The 4 branches of the beauty company La Raine suddenly closed down yesterday (13th). At least 8 employees were owed wages and asked the Labor Department for help. An employee pointed out to “Hong Kong 01” today (14th) that the boss of the company sent a message in the company’s WhatsApp group at 8:00 a.m. yesterday, pointing out that the current operation is difficult and the company is facing insolvency. The Labor Department handles wage arrears matters. The employee pointed out that when he went back to the branch to pick up his personal belongings yesterday, he found that the phone, beauty products, customer information and documents in the branch had been taken away; it is estimated that about 200 to 300 customers who had paid for the treatment were affected. “Hong Kong 01” is inquiring about the incident with the Labor Department, Customs and the Consumer Council.
Ms. Wang (pseudonym), an employee of La Raine, said that the branch opened at 11 am on weekdays, but at 8 am yesterday (13th), the boss Mr. Huang sent a message in the company’s WhatsApp group: “The business environment is difficult now, the company Faced with insolvency, without any new capital injection, the company has no ability to continue to operate, and the business will be suspended immediately. Thank you for the efforts and support of all employees in the past. The company has made a decision to suspend business without any choice. All employees can submit to labor ( Labor) Office for help in dealing with wage arrears.”
Due to the sudden incident, the employee immediately contacted the boss to learn more about the details and to recover the owed wages. However, the mobile phones of the boss and his wife have been unable to get through. The two couples seem to be “disappeared”. Many employees had no choice but to return to each branch to pick up their personal belongings, only to find that the phones, beauty products, customer information and documents in the branch had been taken away, and it was suspected that someone had already planned it.
Ms. Wang said frankly that the company has delayed payment many times this year. In January and February, it also issued “empty checks” to pay salaries. Employees discussed privately, worrying that the company would be in financial danger. However, the boss bought several new machines for training earlier, and the employees believed that the other party still wanted to operate it. Until the 2nd of this month, the boss suddenly spent 2 hours teaching sales skills to the employees, asking the employees to “Sell customers” to follow up. Ms. Wang said frankly that the company had never had this kind of “sales skills meeting” before, so the employees were also surprised. Later, some full-time and part-time employees sent letters to resign. Ms. Wang is currently in arrears of about 7,000 yuan in salary, and a group of employees have also registered with the Labor Department yesterday.
Ms. Wang estimates that 200 to 300 customers who have paid for the treatment courses are currently affected. However, because the customer information and the phone numbers of each branch have been taken away, and the company’s office building is not open, it is impossible to notify the customers. As far as she knows, on April 12th, a customer was introduced by a staff member and bought a 4,000 yuan course of treatment. Yesterday the staff member informed the customer of the completion of the course, and the customer also called the police for help. Some netizens left a message on the La Raine social platform page today, saying that they could not call the branch, and asked the company to explain whether the business will be closed and follow-up arrangements.
Today, the reporter went to La Raine’s branches in Quarry Bay, Diamond Hill, Yau Tong, Tsuen Wan, etc. to learn about the situation. However, the gates of the branches were all closed. The gates of the Kornhill Plaza and Yau Tong branches were posted with “Inventory and interior decoration, The plaza Hollywood branch is also closed, with a notice saying “Inventory and renovation, temporarily closed”; the counter in the Tsuen Wan Thousand Colors store is also closed. The reporter also went to his office building in Sha Tin, but the door of the unit was locked. Nearby merchants pointed out that the office building of La Raine had not opened the door for a long time. The reporter then called the phone numbers of each branch, the boss Huang Sheng and the boss’s wife to inquire, but no one answered. “Hong Kong 01” is inquiring about the incident with the Labor Department, Customs and the Consumer Council.
