The Drying up of Wet Markets in Hong Kong

• Main Author: TAN, Thomas Tsu Wee
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2005
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Marketing; Sales and Merchandising
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/2680
• Institution: Singapore Management University

This study has been carried out to understand consumers' perceptions of the key differences between wet markets and supermarkets in Hong kong; it helps to identify the strengths and weaknesses of these retail grocery shopping outlets in order to determine the . It would appear that for wet markets to survive and find a viable niche, branding would be an important consideration. The opportunities available to wet markets are many and these include improving environment, hygiene factors and payment methods and providing professional training for stall holders. Hong Kong residents have many more choices than residents in other countries in Asia when it comes to shopping for grocery and fresh food. There are numerous shops and stalls to purchase from and these could be classified under the rubric of `wet markets', `market stalls' and `supermarkets'. In Hong Kong, two big supermarket chains, namely Park `N Shop and Wellcome dominate the modern, air-conditioned supermarkets and convenience stores while wet markets with elementary facilities are located in the residential and suburban areas of Hong Kong. The Park `N Shop chain of supermarkets has grown into one of the region's largest food retailing concerns, operating around 250 stores in Hong Kong, Macau and China. Wellcome, one of the subsidiaries of Dairy Farm Group is also a major retailing supermarket chains with 221 stores as in 2003 and holding a substantial market share of total foodstuff sales in Hong Kong. The strength of wet markets traditionally has been in the provision of live fresh food, but even in this area, the supermarkets have become proactive in setting up and offering live fresh food in their premises. The competition in the grocery and fresh food industry in Hong Kong is, therefore, very intense.