The manager at the publishing house Cite Bookshop, surnamed Ng, said that his company filed a legal letter to Page One without disclosing how much money it owed. Ng added that since Page One has a record of paying through regular instalments in the past, Cite Bookshop has yet to consider bringing the case to court.

Lam Dat-cheong, manager at Red Publish, said he recently visited Page One and did not see his firm’s books in the store. He added that Red Publish distributes books through a separate company and that the distribution company may not have delivered the books to Page One.

Upon inspecting Page One’s branches in Harbour City and Festival Walk, Apple Daily found that some bookshelves were lacking in books, especially the children’s section. The newspaper also found that the bookstore was selling magazines published in 2014. Asked about the latest editions of books and magazines, the staff said they were sold out and the store would not restock.

“Page One is in the process of adapting to meet current consumer’s demand… however retail business have a high fixed cost,” said Page One in a public statement on August 12.

The book chain added that it requires funding to strengthen its capital structure and said it has started discussions with a potential investor.