China Hypermarkets: Rapid Expansion Of Retail Market
China is the largest and most populated countries in the world, and with a population of over 1.3 billion people in China, over 20% of the world’s entire population, there is no wonder that there are so many hypermarkets - that’s a lot of mouths to feed and bodies to dress!
Hypermarkets can be defined as large retail complexes, usually 50,000 square feet or more, that sell a huge selection of products ranging from groceries, apparel, home furnishings, and often specialty stores too.
Hypermarkets are the fastest growing retail channel in China, and the market has seen constant growth. The quality of products in hypermarkets is generally much better than what you can buy in markets or in smaller shops. People trust hypermarkets to provide them with good quality and value for money. Many of the large hypermarkets offer private labels which are the same products as larger better-known brands but at a lower price.
There are three main hypermarket chains in China: Carrefour, Trust-Mart, Wal-Mart.
Carrefour is a French company, and also the second largest retailer in the world, and largest foreign retailer in China. Carrefour stores can be found in 33 countries, and China is one of their largest markets. The first Carrefour store opened in 1995 in Chaoyang and was an instant success. There are now 135 stores across the country. The latest one was opened in Shenyang City in Northeast China. Beijing alone has 7 Carrefour hypermarkets.
Many of the large Carrefour stores even offer a free shuttle bus to help customers get their purchases home. The success of Carrefour has been attributed to it’s focus on the mass market as opposed to upscale goods. They can also offer low prices by bypassing wholesalers in China and instead buying the majority of their goods locally from the producers.
Trust-mart is a Taiwanese-owned chain of hypermarkets in China. It was founded in 1997, and by 2006 had over 101 stores in 34 cities across mainland China. In 2006, Wal-Mart put in a successful bid to purchase 100 of the Trust-Mart stores for approximately $1 billion. Despite being owned by Wal-Mart, they are still called Trust-Mart.
Wal-Mart is the largest retail chain in the world. In China Wal-Mart has 227 branches around the country, 121 of which are super centers, and 101 of them are Trust-Marts. Wal-Mart first opened in Missouri, USA in 1988, and was labeled as the ultimate “one stop shop”, and has the motto: “Everyday Low Prices” which it carries through to it’s Chinese and other worldwide stores. The first Wal-Mart super centre in China was opened in Luoho District, Shenzen in 1996.
There are three Wal-Mart super centers in Beijing situated in: the Chaoyang District, Haidian District, and the Xuanwu District. Shanghai has two branches: one in Pudong, and one in the Yangpu District.
Wal-Mart China employs over 50,000 associates across it’s super centers, Sam’s Clubs, and Neighborhood Markets.
As well as the large international hypermarket chains, there are other popular smaller ones, including Jian Hypermarket Co., Wumart, and the hypermarkets branch of Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co. Ltd.
The Jian Hypermarket Co. in Chaoyang offers daily consumer goods, as well as restaurants, an entertainment area and a large supermarket. It covers over 20,000 sq. meters, and they plan on opening another store shortly.
WuMart is primarily a supermarket, but the stores are very large and offer a variety of products that are non-food stuffs. They have stores across Beijing, Tianjin, Heibei and the north-western region.
Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co. Ltd. operate 104 stores across mainland China, 63 of which are in Eastern China. Like all the other hypermarkets, they are experiencing rapid growth and there is enormous competition between all the companies. All of Lainhua’s hypermarkets offer a great variety of products at good value.
There are also many other large supermarket chains around China that some may consider to be similar to hypermarkets due to their sheer size and variety of products available. Park N Shop is one of the most popular low-cost supermarket chains, with over 200 outlets including 50 super stores and mega stores.
No matter what you are looking to buy whilst in China, a trip to one of the hundreds of hypermarkets located in every corner of the country will never fail to disappoint. They all offer competitive prices by buying their products locally and in bulk and then transferring the savings on to the customers. You are also guaranteed quality when purchasing from one of the outlets as they have specialists choosing only the best items to sell in their stores, and don‘t want to compromise faith in their company.
