What Luckin Coffee Hong Kong Hiring Means for the Chain

Luckin Coffee has posted recruitment posters in Hong Kong for store managers, assistant managers and baristas in areas such as Yau Tsim Mong and Central. Pay ranges from HK$65 per hour for part-time baristas to monthly salaries of HK$18,000 to HK$30,000 for managers, and applicants must understand Cantonese.

The hiring marks Luckin Coffee's move toward the Hong Kong market, where its 9.9 yuan pricing drew both excitement and debate about local wages and living costs. The chain's expansion paths in the region and overseas, alongside rivals, are being watched closely as competition in nearby markets keeps growing.

Luckin Coffee recently posted recruitment posters in Hong Kong, hiring store managers, assistant store managers, and baristas for areas such as Yau Tsim Mong and Central, with pay ranging from HK$65 per hour to a monthly salary of HK$30,000. The job requirements specifically note that applicants must understand Cantonese, and non-Hong Kong residents must hold an HKID to apply. As soon as the news broke, netizens were both looking forward to 9.9 yuan coffee coming south and heatedly discussing Hong Kong salaries and living costs. At the same time, the expansion paths of Cotti and Luckin in the SAR and overseas once again drew attention.

Recently, Luckin Coffee launched recruitment in Hong Kong. According to recruitment posters circulating on social platforms, all the positions released this time are front-line store roles, including store manager/assistant store manager and barista, with work locations covering areas such as Yau Tsim Mong and Central.

In terms of work schedules, store managers and assistant store managers must work full-time, while baristas are offered both full-time and part-time options. Leave arrangements for full-time employees follow Hong Kong labor laws.

In terms of pay, the monthly salary range for store managers and assistant store managers is HK$18,000 to HK$30,000, full-time baristas earn a monthly salary of HK$16,000 to HK$20,000, and part-time baristas are paid HK$65 per hour.

Luckin also listed the benefits for full-time employees in its recruitment information, including MPF, meal allowance, transport allowance, performance bonus, employee drinks, and training and promotion referral bonuses.

It is worth noting that, in addition to the common requirements such as “love coffee,” “love food and beverage,” and “young team,” the job requirements for these Hong Kong positions also add a language threshold of “understand Cantonese” in order to adapt to Hong Kong’s local retail service environment.

The recruitment posters quickly sparked discussion online. Luckin’s fans are full of anticipation for 9.9 yuan coffee coming south. Some students said outright that they hope to achieve “Luckin Coffee freedom” as soon as possible, and others called on Luckin to bring C Americano and Grape Iced Americano to Central.

Another focus of netizens’ attention was naturally the “high salary” Luckin offered Hong Kong employees. Some exclaimed, “Hong Kong wages are so high, even part-time work is HK$65/hour, almost 58 RMB,” while others said, “The salary for a full-time barista is so high, no wonder it’s Hong Kong.”

Many people said they wanted to go to Luckin in Hong Kong to work and earn high wages. A netizen from Guangdong asked whether a Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau could be used to do part-time work. Under the recruitment post, a senior Luckin employee also commented, requesting a transfer to the Central store. In response, Luckin said that this store recruitment is aimed at Hong Kong residents and mainlanders who understand Cantonese, and the latter need to hold an HKID to apply.

It is understood that HKID refers to the Hong Kong Smart Identity Card. Whether residing in Hong Kong for the long term or short term, all non-Hong Kong locals must apply for a smart identity card in order to become legal non-permanent residents of Hong Kong.

According to Hong Kong law, working without the above Hong Kong identity is illegal employment, and both the employer and the employee will face imprisonment.

However, some netizens familiar with the situation in Hong Kong pointed out that the salary Luckin offered in Hong Kong is actually not high at all. The local cost of living is not low. Renting even a small place of a few square meters can cost six or seven thousand, and prices are about three times those on the mainland. After normal food, housing, and transportation, and deducting transport and accommodation, a salary of ten or twenty thousand probably leaves little left.

Some even pointed out that it is difficult for Luckin to hire locally with the “high salary” of HK$30,000 offered to store managers, since the average salary in Hong Kong’s catering industry already exceeds 30,000, and even dishwashers earn 30,000.

Previously, on social media, a netizen raised the question, “Why is there no Luckin in Hong Kong?” The netizen said that when going to Hong Kong for errands, they visited HKU, Kowloon, Wan Chai, Tai Po, Kwun Tong, and other places, and nowhere did they see Luckin, which is everywhere on the mainland. Instead, they saw two Cotti locations.

In response, some analysts pointed out that a few years ago Cotti opened in Hong Kong and Luckin opened in Singapore. The expansion routes of the two in the SAR and overseas looked like they were avoiding direct confrontation, both first seeking markets where the other had not invested heavily. After all, defining the competitor as Starbucks would make operations more comfortable.

However, at the end of December 2023, with the opening of Cotti’s first Singapore store, the previous tacit understanding between the two was broken. In January 2024, Luckin Coffee China’s registered capital was reduced from US$1.625 billion to US$1.225 billion. Luckin said the reduced registered capital will be used to meet Luckin Coffee’s need to move funds overseas and will be used for supply chain construction and overseas market expansion.

According to a third-party platform, Luckin Coffee International (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. was established in February 2020 and is located in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is an enterprise mainly engaged in other commercial equipment and currently has 1 administrative license.

Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.