Christy ChanCustomers can buy fresh food at superstores as well as wet markets.Superstores
Wet markets the losers as supermarkets expand
By Christy Chan
Christy ChanThe government should create a “living space” for wet market tenants to survive, say community leaders.Restrictions on superstores designed to preserve a wide range of dry goods
Last May, the Housing Authority’s Commercial Properties Committee made the decision to allow some, but not all, supermarkets to sell service-style fresh foods.
Under the new policy, only supermarkets with an area of 800 square meters or more are permitted to sell service-style fresh foods. Also, the area allotted for fresh foods cannot exceed 20 percent of the total leased area.
These limits have been imposed to ensure that the conversion of space to service-style fresh foods will not result in a loss of the traditional range of supermarket dry goods and other products.Superstores can provide the con-venience of one-stop shopping.
However, they also present a bur-den to wet market stall operators.
This phenomenon exists in old housing estates where traditional
wet markets are in poor condition. Such is the case in Yau Oi
Estate in Tuen Mun.
A Wellcome supermarket opened at Yau Oi Estate in the ’80s.
Then, in early June 2001, the Wellcome supermarket upgraded
to a superstore that provides fresh food, including meat and
vegetables.
The superstore has been accused of pulling potential customers
away from the traditional wet market in Yau Oi Estate with this
new arrangement.
Mr. Ivan Ng (not his real name), a meat stall operator in Yau Oi
Market, said that sales have been seriously affected since the
superstore opened.
“Sales have fallen by about 30 percent,” he said.
“Before the upgrade of the supermarket, I used to earn about
$16,000 per month, but now I only earn about $6,000 to $7,000
a month.”
Mr. Ng said that the situation is worse on weekends.
“Families prefer to go shopping in comfortable superstores
on Saturdays and Sundays,” he said.
Ms. Cheung Yuet Lan is a Tuen
Mun District Councilor in the
Democratic Party. She said
that undesirable environmental
conditions in Yau Oi Market have
caused it to lose its
competetiveness.
“The design of the wet market
is outdated,” she said.
“Narrow corridors, small stalls
and the lack of air-conditioning
are the main problems.”
Market stall operators formed a
union and launched a series of
campaigns in oppositon to the
Wellcome superstore. They went
on strike the day the superstore
opened.
“In doing so, we attracted the attention of the public,” said Mr. Ng. “Perhaps we can help those estates in which superstores have not yet opened.”
Although the opening of the superstore was inevitable, market stall operators are making an effort to win back the support of its customers.
Mr. Ng said that sellers list the prices of their products so as to insure that the prices are not arbitrary, thereby insuring that customers are not cheated.
In addition, sellers place their goods within a restricted area — an area just outside the stall that does not occupy much space in the corridor — to create a clearer passage for customers.
“However, this is far from enough,” said Ms. Cheung.
Most wet market stall operators are poorly educated and are struggling to get by on their own with few resources, but Ms. Cheung said that they still deserve and need the help of the government.
Ms. Cheung said that the government should create a “living space” for market tenants to survive.
“The government should take a more active role and create a fair environment for competition,” she said.
“For instance, the progress of upgrading the Yau Oi Market should be accelerated. Lighting, ventilation and the air-conditioning system should be improved.”
Ms. Daphne Cheng, spokesperson for the Housing Authority, said that three aspects are being studied to upgrade the facilities of the wet market.
First, the Housing Department is considering the idea of installing central air-conditioning in the market.
The Yau Oi Estate Office is also studying the feasibility of providing a covered walkway to the market, thus providing rain-proof access for customers.
Lastly, regular publicity and promotion programmes are being organized to arouse public awareness and increase the flow of customers and the volume of sales.
The Democratic Party’s Ms. Cheung questions the monitoring system for the upgrade of supermarkets by the Housing Authority, however.
“The Housing Authority cannot say that because the new style of supermarkets are popular that there is a legitimate reason for an upgrade,” she said.
Ms. Cheng said she understands that there has been an impact on wet market stall operators.
However, a prohibition on superstores selling fresh foods would merely make the Authority’s shopping centers in estates less competitive.
She said the wet markets can benefit from the upgrade of supermarkets.
“This change can increase the flow of shoppers and therefore benefit the shopping centers and the markets as a whole,” she said.
However, Ms. Cheung is afraid that the creation of superstores will lead to a monopoly of large corporations.
“If the pace of upgrading supermarkets grows faster than the improvement of traditional markets, a balance will be lost,” she said.
“Big corporations will dominate the market.
“The possible results are higher prices and fewer choices. Consumers will be the ultimate sufferers.”
Ms. Diane Chui, the Wellcome marketing development manager, does not believe that superstores will dominate wet markets.
“Traditional markets still occupy about 80 percent of the sales of wet goods,” she said.
“It is unfair to say that superstores have dominated over the wet markets.”
Ms. Chui said that with its upgrade, Wellcome aims to suit the changing tastes of its customers, not to compete with the existing wet-trade market.
“Superstores and traditional markets have different sources of customers,” said she.
The elderly prefer to go to the wet market, while young people and housewives prefer shop in Wellcome.
“I don't believe that there should be a conflict at all,” she said.
Ms. Chui said that the upgrade of supermarkets is not the only factor contributing to the falling sales of traditional markets.
“The weak economy does not help business,” she said.
Ms. Chui noted that an ageing population in Yau Oi Estate also causes falling sales.
“The younger generations with higher economic ability move away from the estate in search of a better living environment,” she said.
