Zong Qinghou, one of the richest men in China, has suffered setbacks with his plan to turn his bottled-water business into a conglomerate spanning retailing, drinks, and children's clothing, but the billionaire said he would make breakthroughs in the retailing industry this year.
The chairman and general manager of Hangzhou Wahaha Group had originally planned to open retailing outlets on the mainland last year, but failed to find a proper location.
'It's more difficult than I expected. But I'm confident that we can make it this year,' said Zong (pictured), who was ranked the third richest man in China by Forbes last year with an estimated wealth of US$5.9 billion.
Zong said the company would run shopping malls, supermarkets, luxury-brand discount stores and convenience stores across the country, and the first outlets would be located in Zhejiang and Hunan provinces. He said he hoped to list the retailing arm in the future.
The move is part of Wahaha's efforts to expand into more profitable sectors as the bottled-water industry slows due to surging costs, particularly for sugar, oil and labour.
The largest soft-drink maker on the mainland in terms of sales posted revenue of 67.8 billion yuan (HK$83.4 billion) last year, up 23.65 per cent year-on-year, but profit rose only 6 per cent to 6.9 billion yuan.
Early last year, Zong expressed interest in investing in a rare-metal mine in Canada, but abandoned the plan, saying the price was too high. He did not specify the rare metal.