 |
|
||||
| 2/6/2010
(HONG KONG, 2 June 2010) – AEON Stores (Hong Kong) Co., Limited ("AEON Stores" or the "Group") (Stock code: 984) commenced trial operation of its largest store in Kowloon East, at MegaBox, Kowloon Bay yesterday and will have its grand opening on 5 June 2010. Mr. Lam Man Tin, Managing Director of AEON Stores, said, "We are pleased to be opening our largest store in Kowloon East at MegaBox in Kowloon Bay. With the huge population in the area, and a large workforce attracted by the bustling business community, we are confident about the business potential of the store. While we have relocated from Lok Fu to MegaBox, our new store will continue to offer pleasant and convenient shopping experiences, including quality service and a wide array of reasonably priced products, to customers living and working in the district." The Board of Directors recommended payment of a final dividend of 22.6 HK cents (2008: 27.9 HK cents) per share. Together with the interim dividend of 9.6 HK cents (2008: 19.3 HK cents) already paid, the total dividend for the year will amount to 32.2 HK cents (2008: 47.2 HK cents) per share. During the year under review, staff costs to revenue was down slightly from 10.9% to 10.3% thanks to effective cost control measures and improved efficiency in manpower deployment. Rental costs to revenue rose to 11.1% from 9.7%. If the one-off impairment loss of prepaid rental was excluded, the ratio would have been 10.8%. As at 31 December 2009, the Group maintained a sound net cash position with cash and bank balance of HK$1,904 million (2008: HK$1,619 million) and bank borrowings of HK$170 million (2008: HK$152 million). Mr. Lam Man Tin, Managing Director of AEON Stores, said, "In 2009, the economy has yet to fully recover from the downturn sparked by the global financial crisis that started in the second half of 2008. However, with solid experience and strong foothold in the region, we are pleased to have achieved satisfactory results amid the still challenging operating environment during the year." JUSCO Kowloon Bay Store occupies levels L1 and L2 of MegaBox, covering about 120,000 sq ft. The Group invested approximately HK$30 million from internal resources into this new store. It is decorated in a young, energetic and fresh manner to convey a modern Japanese lifestyle. In order to serve the needs of different family types in the district, including couples, nuclear families or families with elderly, the new store carries a great variety of products, such as food, clothing, household items and electrical appliances. In addition to a JUSCO $10 Plaza where customers can find a wide assortment of products at good value; the new store houses the shop of the Group's own brand TOPVALU. The product mix is enhanced with more diversity of good quality products introduced from the Group's Japan headquarters, ranging from snacks and beverages, fashion, and items for the home. Furthermore, JUSCO Kowloon Bay Store houses a number of delightful food and beverage outlets including the Western coffee shop "Das Gute", traditional Japanese ramen restaurant "Mikichi", Taiwanese tea beverage shop "Drink Tea" and Japanese beef bowl restaurant "Yoshinoya". The new store will also include a supermarket that offers hot dishes and Japanese home-made food items, as well as Bento Express, introduced for the first time to general merchandise store, thus adding to the diverse cuisine available at MegaBox. For the Grand Opening period, between 6th June and 16th June, a Korean Food Festival will be held at Kowloon Bay Store exclusively to introduce selected Korean food delicacies and beverages for the enjoyment of customers. Mr. Lam concluded, "The diverse tenant mix of MegaBox offers shopping, dining and entertainment all under one roof, attracting a huge volume of shoppers and visitors, and therefore making it an ideal location for our new store. Visitor traffic is expected to increase as more infrastructure facilities come on stream. Our new store will aim to tap significant opportunities by upholding the Group's service credo 'everything we do, we do for our customers' and by offering selected products to meet customers' needs. The Group will continue to look for suitable locations to open more stores that can provide more customers with a uniquely satisfying JUSCO shopping experience." - End - Details of JUSCO Kowloon Bay Store
About AEON Stores AEON Stores was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1994. The Group is mainly engaged in the operation of GMS. Currently, it operates 6 GMS, 17 independent JUSCO $10 Plaza, 3 JUSCO Living Plaza, 5 independent supermarkets and 3 Bento Express (Japanese take-away shop) in densely populated residential districts in Hong Kong. It currently operates 13 GMS and 2 shopping centres in Guangdong Province, the PRC. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.jusco.com.hk. For online shopping, please visit http://www.juscocityhk.com .
Photo Caption: Photo 1) Mr. Lam Man Tin, Managing Director of AEON Stores, announced that JUSCO
Kowloon Bay Store commenced trial operation yesterday and will have its grand opening on 5
June 2010. |
