Success Story
Shuanghai Group Expands Global Reach Through Hong Kong
Eating is a favourite pastime of people. Not only do consumers enjoy food today, they also get increasingly concerned about the range and quality of cuisines. All this is creating ripples in the market and Shuanghua Group is quickly embracing these changes and opportunities. The food giant from Chinese Mainland has been flexing its muscles to grow its business through Hong Kong including the annual HKTDC Food Expo, which serves as an effective trading platform to raise the group’s corporate profile and expand its international presence.
Mr Zhang Zihao, Director of Marketing, Shuanghui Group, said it is no easy task to explore international expansion and requires a comprehensive development strategy with continuous upgrading in core business strengths and management practices as well as a good understanding of overseas markets. He added that Hong Kong, being an international financial city, is an important hub of business in the world so it makes sense to establish a good presence in the city as a step forward for expansion worldwide.
With Chinese Mainland’s sustained growth and a global economic recovery, Mr Zhang expected the food market to grow further with consumers’ increasing willingness to spend. Different nations and societies have developed their own distinctive food cultures. Hong Kong has inherited a great deal of its eating habits from traditional Chinese customs and experienced the ongoing influence of Western styles. Its food culture is a hybrid, a unique fusion of East and West. Riding on the continuous growth in meat consumption, Shuanghui Group is committed to further strengthening its corporate branding to lead the market with quality products, extensive sales network, advanced technology and continuous innovation.
Mr Zhang pointed out that the HKTDC Food Expo provides a solid and effective international platform for industry players worldwide to do business, and for companies from Hong Kong, Chinese Mainland and Taiwan in particular to strengthen cooperation with overseas partners and customers. Shuanghui Group took the centre stage at the HKTDC Food Expo 2009 with over 300 food categories on display. A large number of Hong Kong and overseas traders and visitors came to taste and buy its food products. It was estimated that the Expo attracted more than 350,000 visitors last year. During the exhibition, over 2,000 boxes of Shuanghui food products were sold for a total turnover of more than HK$750,000. Mr Zhang said the exhibition was a great success as the group acquired a number of new customers, thus setting the stage for further expansion of its international sales network. Last year’s encouraging results testify Shuanghui Group’s commitment to excellence and have raised its corporate profile and the Shuanghui brand in both Hong Kong and abroad.
The HKTDC Food Expo 2010 comes as another great opportunity for business development, according to Mr Zhang. Shuanghui Group is prepared to expand the scale of exhibition by taking up a bigger booth to raise further its company profile and to draw more customers.
Shuanghui Group is the biggest meat supplier in Chinese Mainland and an industry leader in the world with total assets of over RMB 7 billion and about 50,000 employees. It operates over 20 advanced meat processing centres and facilities in more than 10 provinces and cities including Henan, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shandong, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hubei, Guangdong and Sichuan, with an annual output of over 2.5 million tons. In 2009, the group’s business turnover surged above RMB 40 billion.
Mr Zhang said the group owes its success to a committed and dedicated workforce to drive business growth under the management’s visionary leadership. As part of the strategy for future growth, it will strive to further consolidate its domestic presence and raise its profile on the international market. The company’s successful operation in Hong Kong has enabled easy access to sophisticated management practices and experiences to facilitate domestic business development. As a result, Shuanghui Group will strengthen its presence in Hong Kong and capitalise on the city’s role as a strategic platform for international business expansion, according to Mr Zhang.
