Sunny Ip Sio Man, chairman of the Macau Small and Medium Enterprises Development Alliance, acknowledged yesterday that while shops and other outlets in tourism districts continued to enjoy strong business results in the first half of this year, “physical stores” in other neighbourhoods generally saw “a slight decrease” in turnover in the period, suggesting that local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constantly innovate their operation models such as providing customers with high-quality products and services at competitive prices, in response to the changing consumption patterns of locals and visitors alike.
Ip, chairman of Vang Kei Hong Trading Company Limited, a local importer and distributor of food products, made the remarks while speaking to reporters at The Plaza Restaurant in Zape after a reception celebrating his company’s golden jubilee, i.e., marking the 50th anniversary of his company’s establishment.
The reception was attended by Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, newly appointed Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) President Che Weng Keong, senior representatives from the business sector, and other community leaders.
Speaking to reporters, Ip said that “there were differences in business results across different industries and sectors” in the city in the first half of this year, during which, he said, sectors related to the city’s tourism industry continued to grow their receipts, but “physical stores” in other neighbourhoods saw “a slight decrease” in their takings.
Ip said that local SMEs, regardless of being retail outlets, eateries, or outlets providing other products or services, should innovate their business operation models in order to adapt to the changing consumption patterns.
Ip also said he expected Macau’s business environment to improve in the second half of this year compared to the first half, thanks to various favourable factors such as the expected continued increase in the number of visitor arrivals and the ongoing implementation of the central government’s new policies of issuing “one-trip-per-week” travel permits for Zhuhai residents and “multiple-entry” travel permits for Hengqin residents to visit Macau.
Since New Year’s Day this year, permanent residents of Zhuhai City have been able to apply for a “one-trip-per-week” travel permit to Macau, enabling them to visit Macau once per calendar week, with a maximum stay of seven days per trip, within a one-year validity period, while permanent residents or residence permit holders in the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin can apply for a multi-entry travel permit to Macau, granting them unlimited visits to Macau within a one-year period, with a maximum stay of seven days per trip.
Ip also noted that the performance metrics of physical stores, aka brick-and-mortar stores, have been adversely affected a great deal by online shopping, while the three-year COVID-19 pandemic has also changed people’s consumption habits and preferences, where, he said, consumers have become more cautious in spending their income on shopping.
Consequently, Ip said, nowadays it is very important for shops and other businesses to be able to convince consumers to spend by providing products and services attractive to them or those that draw their attention.
Ip said that it would be wrong to say that nowadays visitors were not willing to splash out. Instead, he said, visitors are still willing to shell out cash as long as they are provided with products and services that have “high cost-performance ratios”, i.e., high-quality products or services at competitive prices.
Vang Kei Hong Trading Company Limited is a local firm sourcing, importing and distributing food and drink products from the Chinese mainland and all over the world, such as France, Germany, Portugal, and the United States. In addition to supplying food and drink products to retailers, eateries, hotels and various other businesses, the company also runs several supermarkets in the city, namely Vang Kei Supermarket.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s reception also included a signing ceremony where Vang Kei Hong signed agreements with seven manufacturers or distributors of food or beverage products from the mainland and overseas.
Delivering a speech during yesterday’s reception, Ip noted that in addition to importing food products from the mainland and all over the world into Macau, his company, over the past one to two decades, has also been engaging in the business of sourcing and importing new food products from foreign countries and then distributing them in the Hong Kong and Chinese mainland markets.
Yesterday afternoon’s celebratory event also featured a Brazilian dance performance, a local student singing a patriotic song and a traditional Chinese lion dance.
Vang Kei Hong Chairman Sunny Ip Sio Man, also chairman of the Macau Small and Medium Enterprises Development Alliance, speaks to reporters at The Plaza Restaurant in Zape yesterday. – Photos: Tony Wong
A lion dance performance takes place during yesterday’s reception at The Plaza Restaurant celebrating Vang Kei Hong Trading Company Limited’s golden jubilee.
