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Spotlight, one of the largest chains of fabric, craft and home interiors superstores, announced today (March 29) the opening of a 40,000 square feet store in Hong Kong in early 2007 which will create at least 120 immediate new jobs. This will be Spotlight's first investment in Greater China, to be followed by a mid-term plan to open more stores in the region.
Located in the MegaBox mall of Enterprise Square Five in Kowloon Bay, the new Spotlight store will stock Hong Kong's largest range of fabrics, handicrafts and home interior products for do-it-yourself customers. A signing ceremony was held to signify the co-operation between Spotlight and MegaBox Development Co Limited, a subsidiary of Kerry Properties Limited.
"We wanted to bring Spotlight to Hong Kong, as you have one of the best and most dynamic markets in the world," said the Director and co-owner of Spotlight, Mr Morry Fraid. "Targeted to the local Hong Kong market, the Spotlight MegaBox store will bring a new kind of shopping experience to local consumers. We are absolutely confident about the substantial investment we are making here. You have an exciting, fast-paced economy, and our products are well suited to your market."
"The Spotlight MegaBox store will be fully staffed by local employees – as are all our stores. We are very excited to be creating more than 120 new jobs for our Hong Kong team at MegaBox. Since our people are always the most important asset to the company, we are committed to providing training to transfer our industry knowledge to the Hong Kong team."
The new store will comprise six broad categories, each of which is a mega unit by itself within the store. They include: Home Furnishings, Manchester (bed linen), Home Decor, Dress and Fashion fabrics, Craft, and Spartys (party supplies).
The Executive Director & General Manager of MegaBox Development Co Limited, Mr Tom Tong said, "We are delighted to welcome Spotlight to the MegaBox family, a move which will help speed up the development of a home-improvement retail cluster at MegaBox by providing customers with a wide choice of the world's top DIY products. DIY home improvement is a major component in MegaBox's development as the ultimate lifestyle destination in East Kowloon.
Mr Morry Fraid also pointed out that the set up in Hong Kong represents an important step towards entering the Greater China market. The company plans to open up to six stores in Hong Kong, and will look into further opportunities in Mainland China and Taiwan.
The Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, Mr Simon Galpin, welcomed Spotlight's decision to invest in Hong Kong. He said, "We are delighted to hear that Spotlight has chosen Hong Kong as its strategic market. This shows not only the company's confidence in our local consumer market, but also its recognition of Hong Kong's strategic position as a gateway to the mainland of China and other markets in the region."
"We are also pleased to hear that the company has a strong commitment to staff localisation and training. The industry knowledge, expertise, new concepts and services brought into Hong Kong by companies like Spotlight will complement and strengthen the existing cluster in the home interior products and services industries. This will help develop the untapped potential in the market."
The first Spotlight store was opened in 1973 in Melbourne, Australia. Today, there are 105 Spotlight stores throughout Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, occupying over 3 million square feet of retail space. The company employs about 6,500 people worldwide. Sales have grown to more than A$650 million per annum, almost doubling over the last five years. For more information, please visit its website at www.spotlight.hk.
Invest Hong Kong is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government department charged with promoting and facilitating inward investment into the city by providing foreign companies with a wide range of services free of charge and support needed to establish a business presence here. For more information, please visit the website at www.investhk.gov.hk.
Ends/Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:31
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