Cafe de Coral eyes mainland expansion

Cafe de Coral (0341) aims to expand its mainland restaurants to 300 this year, while its Hong Kong business has not rebounded as quickly as expected due to more people traveling overseas.

The fast-food chain anticipates an improvement over summer, as fewer people are expected to travel abroad while the consumer vouchers will have a positive impact on its business.

Chief executive Peter Lo Tak-shing said that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the habits of local people.

He mentioned that in individual areas such as Yau Tsim Mong District, the evening market is still relatively quiet, but picks up on weekends.

Additionally, the company has raised the prices of some dishes due to factors such as the pandemic as well as geopolitical conflicts, which have caused the cost of raw materials to increase.

The company has also acknowledged a manpower shortage and plans to add more staff in the future.

Cafe de Coral expressed that it has had a long-standing partnership with Meituan (3690) in the mainland and is willing to continue the cooperation in Hong Kong as well. This comes as Meituan is preparing to enter the Hong Kong market.