JUSCO Stores (Hong Kong) operates a number of general merchandise stores in Hong Kong. It is a subsidiary of Japanese retailer Jusco.
Brokerage Wheelock NatWest has put a buy recommendation on the stock, saying the company is well positioned to capitalise on growing consumer demand in Hong Kong and China.
Jusco has established a strong and well defined niche in the territory's maturing department store market through its value-for-money, general merchandise store concept. Strong sales growth, supplemented by an aggressive expansion plan, will see sales compound at 17.6 per cent over the next three years.
Jusco's strategy has enabled the group to increase earnings by 16.4 per cent in the 1996 fiscal year, despite a depressed retailing environment.
To maximise productivity Jusco has begun to increase its use of part-time labour and by the end of next year, this should comprise 30 per cent of the workforce.
In October last year, Jusco established a joint venture in Guangdong and it expects to open three stores in the province within the next five years.