Muji says $36m expansion will boost its operations for foray in mainland
Japanese apparel and houseware retailer Muji plans to open five new stores in Hong Kong in the next few years to strengthen the foundation for its maiden foray into the mainland, according to a senior company official.
Opening the 7,000 square foot Muji store in APM shopping centre in Kwun Tong yesterday, Masanobu Furuta, senior managing director of Muji owner Ryohin Keikaku, said the addition of shops in Taikoo Shing, Central and the New Territories underlined the group's optimism about Hong Kong's consumer market.
'Hong Kong is a profitable market and we are selling well,' he said. 'So, there is no reason to wait.'
The government revealed yesterday that consumption demand soared 4.6 per cent in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier due to stronger labour and property markets.
'The next step is mainland China, where we will open our first store in Shanghai very soon,' Mr Furuta said.
Despite a temporary withdrawal from Hong Kong in 1998, Muji - which last year recorded about 13 per cent growth in sales to three billion yen ($217 million) - came back in 2001 with the opening of a store in Sha Tin.