The Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) plans to increase the number of “distinctive shops” by 56 this year, taking the overall total to 268, and the newly added “distinctive shops” need to qualify as “integrity shops”, a DSEDT statement said yesterday.
A new round of the government’s “Distinctive Shops” scheme recruitment started this month, and the existing “distinctive shops” are required to obtain the Certified Shop accreditation granted by the bureau within six months, the statement said.
According to the statement, the scheme has been implemented for three years and has been popular among merchants, with a total of 212 local enterprises currently recognised as “distinctive shops”.
The statement underlined that the bureau and the city’s district-based commercial associations will assist the current “Distinctive Shops” in obtaining the Certified Shop accreditation within the first half of this year, so as to create an honest and high-quality image for the “Distinctive Shops” brand and guarantee consumer confidence.
The bureau also said in its statement that it will continue to work with the various districts’ commercial associations to help more local enterprises innovate their business models and promote community economic development.
This undated file photo provided by the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) shows customers visiting one of the city’s “distinctive shops”.
