Hypermarket in HK

I am looking for a hypermarket in HK like Giant or Carrefour. I am told that Carrefour closed down but are there any others?


Thanks and regards

I'll chime in and say this sort of thing does not exist in HK. HK is generally a much less car-borne society than North American or European countries, so megastores are not as good an economic proposition.


Since all the stores deliver for free you can still order larger amounts of stuff assuming they have stock.



"I think your best bets would be the larger Park 'n Shop stores and (for food at least)the places like Great, Taste, Olivers, 360."


And CitySuper.

Hi, thanks for all your replies but actually the reason I was looking for a hypermarket is not for foodstuff but because stores like Carrefour or Giant (where I am from) have sections selling outdoor furniture, barbecue equipment, DIY stuff, shelving, all weather storage sheds at very reasonable prices (i.e. not like Horizon Plaza!)


I want to go to one place and buy everything (and at good prices) rather than have to go to different places to buy individual prices as I have not much time to complete everything before I move.


Plus, if you have to buy fr different shops, you have to pay delivery charges for each shop (as the total amount I am buying won't meet their threshold for free delivery).


HK really lacks certain things that other countries take for granted. I guess it's all about economics and space.

The reason, that we don't have other retailers, is there is a duopoly in place and the incumbents are very happy with the status quo, (technically it is an oligopoly because the leading retailers tolerate DCH) competitors like carrefour and even walmart have tried in Hong Kong before and ultimately had to close down, because they were out muscled. They had problems securing property, if a property did become a available, for a start both incumbents belong to groups which have property development and management divisions and property for a potential competitor was not made available by those groups. If a viable retail property did become available that was owned by someone else, then the incumbents bid more for the sites. They issued diktats to newspapers not to carry advertising of competitors. Supermarkets are Hong Kong's biggest advertisers they spend more then anyone else. If a newspaper carried a competitors ad, the incumbents threatened to pull all their advertising so potential competitors found it tough to advertise. The incumbents also exerted market power over suppliers and it was not possible for competitors to compete effectively on price.


Basically Carrefour and Walmart are massive retailers, if they really wanted to compete they could, but they would have to sink a lot of money into doing so. Organic growth by building stores profitably is not a possible strategy for them here, the incumbents make sure of that. They would have to buy market share and it is going to cost a fortune and I think they baulked at the idea and chose to wind up operations rather than compete. A city of seven million which is already pretty well served is not such a valuable or important prize to those companies.


If cash and carry was a format that was profitable, I have no doubt either one of the incumbents would not hesitate, that kind of property would be expensive though, certainly not feasible on the island, and its debatable whether its catchment area would extend very far. Hong Kongers are not used to travelling to do that kind of shopping. convenience is the premium here.

"I want to go to one place and buy everything (and at good prices) rather than have to go to different places to buy individual prices as I have not much time to complete everything before I move."


This is indeed a problem in HK. But I don't know that there's much you can do to get around it.


DB explains it well.



"HK really lacks certain things that other countries take for granted. I guess it's all about economics and space."


This is true. However other countries lack things that HKers take for granted, like very affordable domestic help, an extremely safe environment, stellar public transport, proximity to many great holiday destinations. More pertinently, it is easy to have a sales guy from a Shenzhen factory come to your house and 2 weeks later all the shelving, cabinets and furniture you like are delivered an mounted. Same with curtains and so forth. All this for quite a low price.


No place has everything. It all depends on what you value most.

There's plenty of Walmart super centers in the Shenzhen area to choose from.

Nope, cannot see Walmart doing cross border physical delivery themselves. I am more than prepared to be corrected though, perhaps they outsource it. It would be a bigger pain then it could be worth to them. I am sure there is some kind of service though. Whether it is cost effective is another matter. You would be better off probably finding a specialist and swallowing the cost in Hong Kong, or as axptguy suggests finding one in Shenzen who will deliver and or even come to your house to take the order and still allow you to save money.

"axptguy suggests finding one in Shenzen who will deliver and or even come to your house to take the order and still allow you to save money."


That's the thing. This guy comes to the house, measures everything, sends me a quote, has his people deliver and install, then sends me a bill. He works for quite a big furniture/woorworking factory in Shenzhen. He told me there were about 200 salesmen in the company. He just drives around in his car all day and deals with customers.


Perhaps it is a bit more than going to a store, getting the stuff, and doing it all myself. But since I never have to leave the house it is incredibly convenient. Time is money.


I have also noticed that this sort of service, indeed any home delivery, in HK is incredibly reliable. In the US you often had to wait at home all day and sometimes no one would show up. So you called and "sorry Sir they didn't make it out to you today." I would take to calling the shop up every hour to check up on them. In HK, if they say 3 o'clock, they'll call at 2:30 and let you know they are on their way. If they can't make it they call. Add to that the fact that there is a helper at home...

I don't care what they say about Hong Kong I know it has issues, no where it perfect, but a proportional low tax rate, great food (the best in the world if you ask me in terms of authentic and diverse South East Asian cuisine rather than Anglicised or Americanised rubbish) excellent infrastructure, a functioning efficient bureaucracy, and just a general level of efficiency for most things that you just don't get in most countries. Cant speak for Japan, but certainly compared to the UK. I think its an excellent place to live, no doubt there will be people who do not feel quite the same way.