PARKnSHOP

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PARKnSHOP (Chinese: 百佳) is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong. It operates more than 250 outlets in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China. PARKnSHOP also carries products under the private label President's Choice, a successful brand owned by Canadian grocery giant Loblaws.

1 History
2 Corporate structure
3 Locations
- 3.1 Hong Kong
- 3.2 Mainland China
4 Criticism against "Taste"
5 See also
6 Reference
- 6.1 External links

[edit] History

PARKnSHOP was acquired by Hutchison Whampoa in 1973 when Hutchison Whampoa was chaired by Douglas Clague. For a decade the store remained a local retailer until the mid-1980s when it began to expand outside of Hong Kong.

The PARKnSHOP concept mimics the larger supermarket layout found in North America. It sells both local Chinese merchandise and western goods.

[edit] Corporate structure

PARKnSHOP is a member of the A.S. Watson Group (ASW), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Limited.

[edit] Locations

[edit] Hong Kong

A PARKnSHOP Superstore in Tai Po Mega Mall

PARKnSHOP has more than 200 stores and 9,000 staff in Hong Kong. To contend against Carrefour, PARKnSHOP opened the first Superstore (超級廣場) in Hong Kong in 1996 in Whampoa Garden Phase 12 with a size of 4,200 m². The first PARKnSHOP Megastore (購物廣場) opened in 2002 in Metro City Tseung Kwan O, 6,700 m².

A.S. Watson Group also operates some supermarkets with different branding targeting at upper-income consumers. There is one "great" supermarket at Pacific Place, one "Gourmet" supermarket at Lee Gardens, and two "taste" supermarket at Festival Walk and Citygate.

[edit] Mainland China

PARKnSHOP opened its first store in Shekou in 1984, making PARKnSHOP the first foreign retailer to enter the China market.

The first Superstore opened in 2000 and the first Megastore opened in 2001 in the Tianhe district of Guangzhou. There are now more than 20 outlets in northern and southern China, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan.

[edit] Criticism against "Taste"

It is criticised that the "PARKnSHOP" supermarket chain, including the re-branded "Taste' in Kowloon Tong, dismissed the 525 staff from April 2005; most of these staff were dismissed before the Chinese New Year in 2006.

90% of the dismissed staff were re-hired by the Contractor; the salary of these staff were lowered, however, and their working hours were increased when the re-hired staff got the same position before being dismissed. ^[1]