Mr Lee Shao Rong, owner of salad chain Supergreen, agreed that rent is just one part of the overall picture.
“We only go into a place when we think that the rent is reasonable, the traffic is good, the demographic is right for us,” said Mr Lee. Supergreen has 13 outlets in Singapore, seven of which are run by franchisees.
“Despite us growing fast, we are also careful with the location … and importantly we don’t expand for the sake of expansion,” he said. “Every outlet we open has to be profitable.”
Meanwhile, Mr Hong intends to shut his first restaurant DAYU, which was previously known as NUDE Seafood, at Marina One at the end of the month because of high rents.
The rent for Hup Lok in Havelock Road is around 20 per cent of what they pay in the city centre.
