Tesco, the world’s third largest supermarket chain and well known brand in the UK has finally opened its first store in China, in the centre of Beijing. Despite existing competition from Carrefour and Wal-Mart, the market potential in Beijing alone is huge and just on the first day of business Tesco was already jam-packed. Although Tesco has existing investments in Chinese chain LeGou (乐购), this new store is the first fully Tesco-owned operation.
I decided to pay a visit for my evening groceries and was generally pleased: the vegetables appeared fresher than my usual store, the checkout queues were short (they had more counters open), they seemed to sell more products, and they even have a special section for “UK produce” – which I particularly liked! Prices were also reasonable – I don’t have any direct comparisons but nothing seemed more expensive than either Carrefour nor Wal-Mart.
Among the amenities in the all new shopping complex is a set of colourful lockers just outside the supermarket entrance – fully electronic and free to use. You are assigned a locker, given a bar coded receipt, then to retrieve your bag you scan the receipt and your locker opens again. Marvellous! There’s also a KFC nearby, a bakery, restaurants, and lots of new shops. This is becoming a trend in China – the supermarket becomes a magnet for commerce. But it works, and with housing construction still booming in the run-up to the 2008 olympics you can be sure that many more stores are to follow.
Unfortunately time was short on this visit, but i’ll definitely go again.
General |
Posted by Terence
Jan
25
2007
Guests of a party in the small town of Sterlitamak were treated to a new year’s party with a difference : they were oblivious to the fact the meatballs and dumplings, among other dishes, were made using the minced meat of the host’s (presumably ex-) boyfriend.
The woman reportedly axed her boyfriend to death during a heated row and ingeniously decided to deal with the body by feeding it to unsuspecting guests. It would, afterall, save on the groceries and kill two birds with one stone! Although guests did find the meet unusually sweet, she was discovered when someone peeked into the fridge – and found leftovers.
The woman has just been given an 11 year sentence. There was no mention of whether any culinary awards were given.
If you’re ever at a party and stumble across some strange tasting food think again… it probably is!
China’s first McDonalds drive-thru in a petrol station opened yesterday… in ShaHe District in Beijing (沙河区, 北京). This is the beginning for Jeff Schwartz, China McDonalds chief executive’s plan to open another 100 outlets this year – about half of them drive thru’s, and with a recent agreement with Sinopec signals the start of more drive-thru outlets to be opened in petrol stations throughout China. And that’s a potential 30,000 petrol stations – with Sinopec adding 500 every year on average.
This is a very good move for both McDonalds and Sinopec : McDonalds is continuously expanding and car ownership is growing exponentially. I am not sure how petrol fumes would taste when mixed with a McDonalds hamburger, but regardless it looks like both are here to stay and you never know… when cooking oil propulsion technology is perfected perhaps McDonalds will become our new local fill-up point!
Tesco, the world’s third largest supermarket chain and well known brand in the UK has finally opened its first store in China, in the centre of Beijing. Despite existing competition from Carrefour and Wal-Mart, the market potential in Beijing alone is huge and just on the first day of business Tesco was already jam-packed. Although Tesco has existing investments in Chinese chain LeGou (乐购), this new store is the first fully Tesco-owned operation.
Among the amenities in the all new shopping complex is a set of colourful lockers just outside the supermarket entrance – fully electronic and free to use. You are assigned a locker, given a bar coded receipt, then to retrieve your bag you scan the receipt and your locker opens again. Marvellous! There’s also a KFC nearby, a bakery, restaurants, and lots of new shops. This is becoming a trend in China – the supermarket becomes a magnet for commerce. But it works, and with housing construction still booming in the run-up to the 2008 olympics you can be sure that many more stores are to follow.