Want Want China Holdings Ltd (中國旺旺控股), the foodmaker controlled by Taiwanese billionaire Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), will shun acquisitions and tie-ups to focus on sales in China and its existing range of more than 3,000 trademarks.
“We are standing in a great position,” chief financial officer Everett Chu (朱紀文) said in an interview in Shanghai yesterday. “For the foreseeable future, we would rather try it on our own.”
Want Want, the largest maker of rice crackers in China, expects the country to be its main market for the next decade at least as growth boosts consumer spending among the nation’s 1.3 billion population, Chu said.
PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
China’s economy expanded 7.9 percent last quarter as a 4 trillion yuan (US$595 billion) stimulus package helped it withstand the global recession.
“For food and beverage company, if you have the population, then you have market potential,” Chu said. “We believe this sector will be one of the fastest-growing in China.”
Want Want plans to create new products using existing brands to boost sales, as well as expanding distribution networks in rural China, he said. He wouldn’t comment on sales targets.
Want Want earns more than a third of its revenue from selling rice crackers and the rest from snacks foods, dairy products and drinks. Its trademarks are spread across China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
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