Hong Kong Week: Morrisons sets up shop
SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons is one of the latest UK firms to set up a base in Hong Kong.
The Bradford-based group, the UK’s fourth largest supermarket chain, only opened its Hong Kong office on June 22 to source products from China and the wider Asian market.
It will sell these in its more than 450 stores in the UK and has already shipped the first goods back to Britain for sale this season.
Bob Guard, executive director of Morrisons in Hong Kong, said: “It was a logical choice for what we do with non-food in the UK. We sell more than £1bn of non-food in the UK and Morrisons wanted to get closer to its suppliers, cut out some of the middle-men and if you think about some of the product ranges in non-food in the UK, a huge proportion of that comes out of mainland China.”
It sources products such as household electronics, personal care products, toys, stationery, gardening products and the growing area of kitchen and dining products.
Morrisons considered basing its operation in Singapore or the Chinese mainland before it decided on Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong has a legal system very similar to the UK, it has very good staff availability and I can get to anyone of our Asian suppliers within five hours,” said Mr Guard.
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“So if you take the location, you take the staff, you take the legal system and you add them altogether, then it became the logical choice.”
Simon Galpin of Invest HK, said: “Hong Kong is an easy place for companies to set up. The size of the British business community here is growing.
“Tesco have their global sourcing operation for non-food items here in Hong Kong and Morrisons have just opened a sourcing office here.
“Mainland China is a series of markets with tremendous opportunities. But it is hard to set up a company in China. In Hong Kong it takes less an hour and you can do it online – it’s a very simple place for people to incorporate.
“English is an official language and the legal system is so similar to the UK,” added Mr Galpin.
Mr Galpin says that 300 companies will follow Morrisons’ lead and set up operations in Hong Kong this year. But many will be smaller enterprises including design consultants.
Even historic public school Harrow will open a school in Hong Kong soon.
Firms interested in doing business in Hong Kong and the wider Chinese market can attend Think Asia Think Hong Kong events being held in London on September 13 and Leeds on September 14.
For more information go to: www.thinkasiathinkhk.com
TheBusinessDesk.com’s Hong Kong Week is in association with international law firm DLA Piper.
