by Kwan Sau-Fan. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-129). / Questionnaire also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.vi / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vii / ACKNOWLEGEMENT --- p.xi / CHAPTER / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- CATEGORIZATION OF SUPERMARKETS --- p.6 / Conventional Supermarket --- p.7 / Super Store/Combination Store --- p.7 / Warehouse Store --- p.8 / Hypermarket --- p.8 / Chapter III. --- THE SUPERMARKET INDUSTRY IN HONG KONG --- p.10 / Historical Development --- p.10 / Introductory Stage --- p.10 / Growth Stage --- p.11 / Maturity Stage --- p.12 / Recent Development --- p.17 / Influx of New Retailing Concept --- p.17 / Weed Out of the Traditional Store and Grocery --- p.21 / Competitive Environment --- p.23 / The Five Forces --- p.23 / Chapter IV. --- COMPANY PROFILE OF CARREFOUR --- p.36 / The Carrefour S.A --- p.36 / Carrefour in Hong Kong --- p.37 / Chapter V. --- SWOT ANALYSIS OF HYPERMARKET AND CARREFOUR IN HONG KONG --- p.40 / Strengths of Hypermarket and Carrefour --- p.40 / Weaknesses of Hypermarket and Carrefour --- p.42 / Threats to Hypermarket and Carrefour --- p.43 / Opportunities for Hypermarket --- p.47 / Chapter VI. --- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY --- p.50 / Design of Questionnaire --- p.50 / Sampling Method --- p.53 / Chapter VII. --- FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY --- p.55 / Most-Frequently-Visited Supermarket and Patronage Motive --- p.57 / Patronage Habit --- p.72 / Frequently Purchased Items --- p.75 / Amount of Spending --- p.78 / Transportation Means --- p.81 / Attitudes towards Carrefour --- p.82 / Purchase of Durable Items --- p.83 / Level of Satisfaction --- p.83 / Preferred Retail Outlets for Buying Fresh Food and Durable Items --- p.87 / For Purchase of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables --- p.87 / For Purchase of Fresh Meats --- p.89 / For Purchase of Electrical Appliances --- p.91 / For Purchase of Compact Disc --- p.93 / For Purchase of Furniture --- p.95 / Summary --- p.97 / Chapter VIII. --- IMPLICATIONS --- p.101 / Performance of Carrefour --- p.101 / One-Stop-Shopping is Not An Attraction --- p.103 / Chapter IX. --- RECOMMENDATIONS TO CARREFOUR AND TO HYPERMARKET IN GENERAL --- p.105 / Modify Their “One-Stop-Shopping´ح Strategy --- p.105 / Concentrate on Low-Priced Electrical Appliances --- p.106 / Improve After-Sales Services for Durable Items --- p.106 / "Focus on Apparels for Babies, Children and Pets or on Pajamas" --- p.107 / Develop Better Differentiation Strategies --- p.108 / Highlight the Store's Uniqueness --- p.108 / Educate the Public by Advertising --- p.109 / Develop Core Competence --- p.109 / Compete on Location and Price --- p.110 / Adopt New Marketing Strategies --- p.111 / Bonus Point Scheme --- p.111 / Membership Scheme --- p.112 / Store Design Should Suit with Local Tastes --- p.113 / Chapter X. --- CONCLUSION --- p.114 / Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research --- p.116 / APPENDIX --- p.118 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.127