Toe-to-toe with Ikea for 32 years in Hong Kong and thriving: Pricerite’s made-for-microflats furniture a local hit
You wouldn’t know from looking at its newest state-of-the-art store, but Pricerite began as a discount chain. It has steadily won fans through a focus on local needs, from multifunctional, space-efficient furniture to hi-tech air purifiers
It’s a weekday afternoon and the CEO of Pricerite is posing for photos with Pepper, a customer service robot who occasionally breaks out in song and dance. “This is the first Cantonese-speaking robot in Hong Kong,” says James Leung Siu-pong. “Normally they can only speak Japanese, English or Mandarin, but we wanted something to match our customers.”
The perky robot isn’t the only new feature introduced in recent years by Pricerite, which operates more than 30 furniture and homewares shops around Hong Kong. Over the years, it has evolved into a defiantly local alternative to Ikea, giving the Swedish multinational giant a run for its money when it comes to making Hong Kong’s tiny flats liveable.
Pepper can be found inside Pricerite’s new flagship store on Nathan Road in Mong Kok, the city’s most densely populated district, where customers can preview furnishings with augmented reality and virtual reality apps, and buy products instantly through their phone without having to line up at the cash register.
“We call it a new retail model,” says Leung – or, more specifically, an “omnichannel retail network” that blends e-commerce with physical stores.
“In the past it was all about bricks-and-mortar stores, but now there are new channels – web, mobile – and we want to link up all of them,” he says. “We want absolute convenience for our customers.”
