WEIHAI: SPAR entered the Chinese market yesterday as it opened its first hypermarket in the coastal city of Weihai in East China's Shandong Province.

The 8,000 square metre store is owned and managed by domestically renowned retailer Jia Jia Yue Supermarket Co Ltd, which last year joined SPAR, the world's largest retail food store chain.

"The opening of the SPAR Weihai store is a very important step for us as we explore the Chinese market," said Gordon Campbell, managing director of SPAR International, at the inauguration yesterday.

"The importance of China to international consumer package goods manufacturers and to large international retailers is well known and represents an area of tremendous growth opportunity. We believe we will be able to help manufacturers and retailers gain significant market penetration and establish lasting brand value."

Campbell said SPAR's role is to organize operations more effectively to enable competition with multinationals.

SPAR will open another 14 hypermarkets in Shandong with Jia Jia Yue in the next three years, many of which have a floor space of more than 10,000 square metres.

Operating in more than 30 countries, Amsterdam, Netherlands-based SPAR has 16,000 stores and recorded retail sales of US$35 billion in 2004.

"After the other two major chain store business modes - company-owned and franchise - have gained momentum in China, the voluntary company-in-chain store is expected to play an important role in the Chinese retailing industry," said Guo Geping, president of the China Chain Store Operations Association. "Voluntary company-in-chain stores will improve the management of small and medium-sized enterprises and reduce their business risks by changing rivals into co-operative partners."