WELLCOME, Hong Kong's largest supermarket chain, plans a multi-million dollar expansion and development programme in spite of rising rents in the territory and barriers to setting up shop in China.
Chief executive of Wellcome, Jonathan Smith, said yesterday that 'several hundreds of millions of dollars' will be spent on refurbishing and updating existing stores, and building 20 to 30 new ones in the territory over the next few years.
'If you compare Hong Kong with other countries, the opportunity for growth should be considerable because supermarkets make up a small part of the total food industry.' Most Wellcome store sites are leased. Mr Smith said that in spite of an effective operation, the rising rents in Hong Kong posed a 'huge problem'.
'We would prefer a few larger stores and no doubt they will come along.' Mr Smith said Wellcome's growth was an achievement, 'particularly in a place like Hong Kong which is relatively small in size and relatively small in population'.
Wellcome is also the largest supermarket chain in Taiwan with 80 stores.
It is planning to move into Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Japan.
'There is extreme interest in moving into China,' Mr Smith said, citing the marketing opportunities due to the number of manufacturers setting up factories on the mainland.