759 Store

759 Store
Website www.759store.com
The first branch of 759 Store in Kwai Fong in Hong Kong.

759 Store is a Hong Kong chain store selling groceries and snacks. The name 759 is the Hong Kong Stock Exchange code for its parent company, CEC International Holdings Limited. Its Chinese name originated from the Japanese drama Oshin. 759 stores mainly import Japanese, Korean and other foreign food items and sells them at a relatively low price compared with most other supermarkets in Hong Kong.

History

The first 759 store was opened in Kwai Chung Plaza on 7 July 2010. Following this, 11 branches in Hong Kong and 90 branches in total were opened by July 2012. 65% of 759 Store's products are imported from Japan. 759 Store has also expanded into other places, such as Korea, Taiwan, and Europe. As it expands, it is importing more items from different places like Taiwan and Korea. Under a membership scheme, its members can get even more economical deals. In December 2012, there were more than 120 759 stores.

The company announced that in December 2013 it would open a 759 Store Household Market, selling household goods and small appliances. As of December 2013, it operates 160 convenience stores in Hong Kong; another 12 were planned to open by April 2014. The company also operates two 759 Store Supermarket stores (with five planned to open in January 2014), selling groceries and household items. As of March 2014, it operates 187 convenience stores in Hong Kong [1]

Founder

Lam Wai Chun founded the company.[2][3] He was the founder of Coils Electronic Co., Ltd. (高雅線圈製品公司), an electronic-component company that had been running for 30 years. He lost control of Coils Electronic during the 2008 financial crisis; however, he didn't give up and restarted a new career by opening 759 Stores.[4]

Business strategy

The early mission for 759 Stores was to fight against large-chain supermarkets. 759 Stores practises a 'Small Profit, Quick Return' strategy: selling each product at a wafer-thin margin with the aim of gaining through the sale. In 2012, 759 Stores had achieved its goal of high turnover and income reached HK$3.5 billion. With the support of its parent company, CEC International Holdings Limited, 759 Store is capable of surviving even with its current low profit rate. 759 Store's unexpected low selling prices have threatened other small shops and invited critics to comment that 759 Store has become a killer of small entrepreneurship, which it denies.

More than 95 percent of products sold in the chain are imported directly, bypassing local distributors who the firm believes may be susceptible to anti-competitive pressure by Hong Kong's established retailers.[5]

Controversies

Coca-Cola incident

In October 2011, Coca-Cola's Hong Kong franchised Swire Group stated that 759 Stores were selling Coca-Cola below its suggested retail price, and demanded the chain raise their Coca-Cola retail price. 759 Store owner Lam Wai Chung at first declined the request; however, Swire Group later exercised its monopoly power over the beverage and increased the wholesale price of a can of Coca-Cola from HK$2 to HK$2.2. On 10 October, Chung decided to stop selling Coca-Cola.[6] Swire Coca-Cola later admitted they provided suggested retail prices to customers of various sales channels for their reference. This incident caused a stir and urged the establishment of the Competition Bill, in order to protect the small businesses in Hong Kong.

References

  1. ↑ Wong, Imogene (2013-12-23), Growing 759 widens focus, The Standard
  2. ↑ 759 Profile & Executives - CEC International Holdings Ltd. Bloomberg. Retrieved on 2014-01-22.
  3. ↑ Wai Lam: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek. Investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved on 2014-01-22.
  4. ↑ "Lam Wai Chun". Hong Kong Celebrity Network. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  5. ↑ 'New law no contest for supermarkets' power', SCMP, 13 June 2014
  6. ↑ "Company statement of Swire Coca-Cola HK on the incident of "759 Store"".

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 759 Store.