(Yicai) Nov. 17 -- Weaker consumption in China this year has led to dire straits at restaurants, with many having shut since the start of the year.

The business licenses of about 1.1 million eateries were revoked in the 10 months ended Oct. 31, according to figures from business data provider Qichacha. Some 278,000 canceled their licenses in September and last month alone.

Many restaurateurs have listed their businesses for sale on social media and brokerage platforms. Some are even selling the hardware and furniture, including fridges, freezers, dining tables, and chairs at low prices after long being unable to find buyers. 

Zhao Junyang, the owner of a hotpot restaurant, told Yicai that after nine years in the catering sector, this has been the hardest time for him since opening his business.

Ma Fei, a restaurant owner with a decade in catering, had two highly successful eateries specializing in Yibin Ranmian, also known as Yibin Burning Noodles. After China eased its Covid-19 controls, he believed the catering sector would rebound, so he opened two new outlets. 

Despite going well at first, Ma's business worsened from the second half of this year. After struggling along for six months, he put the two new restaurants up for sale on a brokerage platform. 

Besides weak consumption, an abrupt surge in the number of new restaurants since the start of this year is also one of the reasons for the closure of so many, according to industry insiders. This is because many new owners went into catering after losing their jobs during the pandemic and launched aggressive low-price promotional campaigns, they said.

About 2 million restaurants were opened in China in the first half of 2023, equal to the whole of 2019, data from Qichacha showed.

In March, Li Xiaojun, who was out of work during the pandemic, spent more than CNY200,000 (USD27,614) to open a franchised shop selling rice noodles in Central China. After poor business, he tried selling the outlet but got no calls until he slashed the asking price to CNY30,000 (USD4,149). 

Li initially thought that dining out was a “rigid demand” situation, so there should have been a lot of customers, and only when the restaurant opened did he realize that he lacked the necessary knowledge about the catering sector.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev