Hong Kong-headquartered, self-described “leisure food retailer” Best Mart 360 is on track to open its first store in Mainland China this month ahead of a broad expansion across the border.
The company set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shenzhen and relocated Hong Kong staff to open an office in the city’s Futian district earlier this year. In a statement announcing its half-year results, Best Mart 360 said the first store will open in Shenzhen later this month “with the objective of expanding its operating model to other cities in the Greater Bay Area, thereby extending the group’s sales network to the whole nation”.
The expansion plan follows a 10 per cent increase in its Hong Kong and Macau store network to 129 stores in the year to 30 September as it sought opportunities to open in shopping centres and local residential communities instead of a previous focus on tourist areas.
In September, the company also opened the first of a new retail concept called FoodVille in Tseung Kwan O, which it describes as a global gourmet store. Responding to the consumer trend of preparing more meals at home, prompted by Covid-related restrictions on dining out, the store stocks medium-to-high-end quality food products including wines, chocolates, health foods, cheeses, western sauces and ingredients from around the world. An unspecified number of FoodVille stores in Hong Kong are planned, with the company targeting large and medium-to-high-end shopping malls in the city “as well as stores with larger area and locations with high customer traffic and population density”.
