Crostini, an Italian-style pastry shop, suddenly announced on Tuesday night (13th) that it would close its entire line of business, and customers who purchased cake cards and gift certificates immediately formed a bitter group.
The group owner Yandy pointed out that more than 700 bitter owners have been assembled, and each of them bought an average of more than 200 cake cards for wedding banquets, and the average amount involved was more than 6,000 yuan. However, when the Consumer Council received an enquiry for assistance, it made it clear that it could not intervene in the liquidation. The group's complaint only appeals to consumers who pay by credit card to try to get their hands on the credit card company.
Zhao Guancong, director-general of rights and interests of the Food and Beverage Union, which assists the employees of the bakery, pointed out that an estimated 100 employees are owed wages, and the total amount is expected to reach 3 million to 5 million yuan.
He also quoted employee sources as saying that some branches had been chased for rent earlier, and there were rumors that the shop was "not for sale", and he had long expected that the company would be in financial trouble.
Huang Jiahe, president of the Hong Kong Restaurant Association, admitted that he had foreseen as early as the end of July that the "rental recovery" arrangement might have sequelae. As many as 8,000 restaurants received rent recovery notices last month, and even received a lawyer's letter. About 50 to 60% of the total, there are still 2,000 to 3,000 restaurants that are still in a "tug-of-war" with their owners. If a consensus cannot be reached by the end of this month, as many as 2,000 restaurants may not be able to pay rent and will be closed.
▼Chain pastry shop Crostini▼
Yandy, the founder of the Crostini bitter group, said in the morning on the Hong Kong and Taiwan program "Millennium" that he bought 201 cake cards at the July wedding show, and he could get a 65% discount for 201 cakes. , can be used until 2025, even if the wine is postponed due to the gathering restriction order under the epidemic, the cake card can still be sent, so choose to buy the cake card of Crostini.
25% off cake card sale at the July Wedding Show
However, she only sent out five cake cards, and Crostini suddenly graduated. She was deeply astonished: "I heard the scare, is it true? It must be a prank? After half an hour of finishing work, Zi Zhihua told Renxing that the whole line was closed, I think this is ridiculous." She lamented that she had to spend nearly 10,000 yuan to buy other cake cards to "refill the wok".
Part of the entrance to the Crostini workshop is heavily locked.
(File photo/Photo by Feng Guoliang)
700 cake card bitter owners per capita purchase 200 cards, involving 6,000 yuan
Yandy has set up a WhatsApp group on the night Crostini announced the closure of the whole line. The two groups now have a total of 700 bitter owners. On average, each person bought more than 200 cake cards, and the average amount involved was more than 6,000 yuan. The person who suffered the most losses It even bought 250 cake cards.
She had called the Consumer Council for help, but the Council stated that Crostini had been liquidated and could not intervene in assistance, and even those who bought gift certificates in cash could not be recovered. Consumers who paid with credit cards could try to recover from the credit card company, but Results are available in 5 to 8 months.
Zhao Guancong, director-general of rights and interests of the Food and Beverage Union, which assists the employees of the bakery, pointed out that it is estimated that 100 employees will be affected by this incident. The salary in August was only recorded two days earlier, and the salary was not paid in September, plus the severance pay for full-time employees and the payment on notice, etc., the total amount is expected to reach 3 million to 5 million yuan.
According to his preliminary understanding, the founder, Huang Guanghui, was reluctant to communicate with the Labour Department, and he was worried that the other party would not sign the insolvency letter for a long time.
Late delivery of food for two consecutive months, some stores have no sales
He continued to point out that employees were also kept in the dark. It was only after seeing the announcement on Crostini's Facebook page that they learned of the news of the company's closure. Some branches have been chased for rent and repossessed, the workshop has been closed, and the rumors that some branches are "no sales" even if they open, the company has been expected to be in financial trouble, so it was as early as last Saturday (10th) on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The union has been asked for help.
Huang Jiahe.
(file picture)
Huang Jiahe, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Catering Industry Association, said that the epidemic situation is still severe, and the business of the catering industry has dropped sharply in recent months. Owners chase rents, ask lawyers to collect shops, etc. However, as business declines, it is difficult for shops to have enough cash flow to pay the accumulated rent for several months. Among them, shop owners who rent shopping malls are under even more pressure. The policy doesn't help either. "The pressure will be even greater if it is delayed for another three months. This situation may occur sooner, and this situation is not so optimistic."
More than 8,000 restaurants are being chased for rent, and more than 2,000 restaurants will close by the end of the month
He said that as many as 8,000 restaurants received notices of rent recovery last month, or even received letters from lawyers, accounting for about 50 to 60% of the total. We have escaped the crisis of being unable to operate, but there are still two or three thousand restaurants that are still in a "tug-of-war" with the owners. If a consensus cannot be reached before the end of this month, or as many as 2,000 restaurants cannot pay rent, they will close their business, stressing that the situation cannot be taken lightly. .
Crostini's closure | Consumer Council temporarily received 10 complaints against Customs to set up a special team to follow up on Crostini's closure | Union expects hundreds of employees to be owed wages of $3 million, Labour Department urges customers to take care of Crostini's closure | There are 3 things to do when Crostini closes | After the end of the "Rent Prohibition Order", the first chain store with ten stores was chased for 2.8 million Crostini closed | Founder Huang Guanghui Interview: 80 million has been invested to save the "epidemic" city