Wellcome facts for kids
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Native name
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惠康
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| Supermarket | |
| Industry | Retailing |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Headquarters |
Hong Kong
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Number of locations
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280 (Hong Kong) |
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Area served
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Hong Kong |
| Parent | DFI Retail Group |
Wellcome (Chinese: 惠康; Mandarin Pinyin: Huìkāng; Jyutping: wai6 hong1) is a popular supermarket chain. It is owned by a large British company called Jardine Matheson Holdings. This company runs Wellcome through its DFI Retail Group branch.
Wellcome is one of the two biggest supermarket chains in Hong Kong. The other major chain is ParknShop. DFI Retail Group also runs other supermarkets across Asia. These include Market Place, Cold Storage, Hero, and Giant.
Contents
History of Wellcome Supermarkets
Wellcome is the oldest supermarket chain in Hong Kong. It was started in 1945. Since 1964, the company has been fully owned by Dairy Farm International Holdings. This happened after it joined with another supermarket called Dairy Lane.
Early Days and New Ideas
Wellcome was founded in 1945 by Mr. Wu Chung-Wai, Mr. Lau Lim, and Mr. Ko Yin-Yu. Their first store opened on Ice House Street in Central, Hong Kong. This shop sold special imported items. These included wines, biscuits, and canned foods.
Wellcome was the first supermarket to offer a home delivery service. Around 600 customers used this service every day. In 1964, Dairy Farm (now DFI Retail Group) bought Wellcome.
Changing How People Shop
Wellcome was the first to bring the "self-service" idea to supermarkets. This meant customers could pick items from shelves themselves. They no longer needed staff to help them get products.
In 1973, Wellcome was the first to sell pre-packaged rice. This made shopping for rice much easier. In the 1980s, Wellcome launched its own brand called "No Frills." This brand offered over 300 products at very low prices.
Modern Shopping and Growth
Wellcome was also the first supermarket to use Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) technology. This helped them run their stores more efficiently. Wellcome expanded to Taiwan and bought the Ding Hao supermarket.
On October 23, 1998, Wellcome opened its first 24-hour store. This store was in Great George Street, Causeway Bay. Wellcome also created a second store brand, "First Choice." This brand had over 1,000 products. These items were 20–30% cheaper than other international brands.
In 1998, the "Wellcome Fresh Food Centre" opened. This large center helped with fresh food supplies. In the 1990s, Wellcome Hong Kong was the first to use the UPC system. This made payments faster and easier.
In 2000, Wellcome started the "Vote For Your Favourite Brand" campaign. Soon after, they opened a large superstore in Tuen Mun Town Plaza. This superstore offered "one-stop" shopping. It combined a fresh food market and a grocery store in one place. Wellcome also started a "double refund" offer. If a competitor had a lower price, they would give double the difference back to the customer.
In January 2003, Wellcome opened a unique store in Stanley. It was the first supermarket inside a 100-year-old building. This building was the old Stanley Police Station. In 2020, Wellcome Taiwan was bought by Carrefour.
Wellcome Brands
Wellcome supermarkets sell products under different brand names. Some of these are their own special brands.
Private Labels
Wellcome stores sell products from DFI's own brands. These are called Meadows and Yu Pin King. These products are made just for Wellcome and its related stores.
Wellcome Superstore
The first Wellcome Superstore opened in 2000. Today, there are 31 superstores across Hong Kong. These larger stores offer a wider range of products. They are chosen to fit what local customers want.
Wellcome Fresh
In 2021, the Wellcome Superstore in The Belcher's changed its name to Wellcome Fresh. This store focuses more on fresh food items.
Other Supermarket Brands
DFI Retail Group also runs other supermarket brands in Hong Kong. These include Market Place (which used to be called Marketplace by Jasons), 3hreeSixty, Jasons ichiba, and Oliver's The Delicatessen.
