The coronavirus outbreak in China is pushing many small businesses to the brink,...
BEIJING/SHANGHAI - The coronavirus outbreak in China is pushing many small businesses to the brink, as efforts to stem its spread left usually bustling streets deserted and malls shut or empty.
Though China has asked companies to resume work, owners of small retail and consumer services firms are deeply concerned that people fretting about their incomes and job security will be in no mood to spend - and still wary of venturing into public places.Business is always slow at Lunar New Year for Benjamin Devos, founder of French bakery chain Comptoirs de France, but it normally picks up towards the end of the holiday.
But business suffered in the last two years, not helped by tariffs on imported American bourbon, a casualty of the U.S.-China trade war.“Of course I’m very reluctant” about closing, he said. “My future plan is to return home to Taiwan, and look to write another new chapter in my life.” The only people in his restaurant are now a handful of waiters who kill time sanitizing the spotless floor and tables over and over again, Li said.“On a good day we have one or two customers,” he said. “Daily revenue won’t exceed 1,000 yuan .”Pearl Deluxe offers skin care and spa services in a high-end Beijing mall. In the four years since starting up, it’s never seen so few clients.
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