1) What is the story?

Hyper Value in the Christmas commercial struggle

2) Why tell it now?

Although the discount retailer Hyper Value has claimed to close one branch in
Cardiff because of a fall in trade, the store has not made a clearance sale, but has replenished mass stock for Christmas. With much lower prices than competitors and much earlier engagement in the Christmas commercial struggle, Hyper Value has shown its strategic ambition in its last battle.

3) How am I going to do it?

I would like to interview some staff members in the branch which is located in
Cardiff city centre and talk with some customers in the store. Meanwhile, I am going to gather some information or latest news about Hyper Value officially and unofficially.

Remember his famous words? 

(There is a folk history)

“You have to win this battle! If anyone gets hurt and be disabled after this match, I will support him for his rest life.”  FOK Ying Tung, a patriotic businessman encouraged the players of China’s football team before a vital World Cup primary match.

I think the CPC would hardly find a red business leader as him in the future.

Dr. The Hon. Henry FOK Yin-tung

Native District:	Panyu Country, Guangdong Province
Principal Occupation:	Chairman, Fok Ying Tung Group
Other Occupation:	Chairman, Fok Ying Tung Foundation
	Chairman, Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation
	Chairman, Fok Ying Tung Sports Foundation
Award :	Olympic Order, International Olympic Committee
	FIFA Order of Merit
Public Services:	Present
	Vice-chairman,The 10th Political Consultative Committee of the People’s republic of China
	Former
	Vice-chairman of the 32nd, 33rd & 36th term of office and Chairman of the 34th, 35th, 37th, & 38th term of office of the Chamber
	Vice-chairman of the 8th and 9th Political Consultative Committee of the People’s Republic of China
	Standing Committee Member of the 5th and 6th Political Consultative Committee of the People’s Republic of China
	Member of the 5th and 6th Political Consultative Committee of the People’s Republic of China
	Standing Committee Member of the 7th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China
	Member of the 1st Selection Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
	Vice Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
	Vice Chairman, the preliminary Working Committee of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
	Member of the Basic Law Drafting Committee of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
	Member, Hong Kong Affairs Advisor
	President of the Hong Kong Real Estate Developers Association
	Executive Committee Member, Federation of International Football
	President, World Xiangqi Federation

     A professor in CUC (Communication University of China) e-mail me yesterday. She asked me download a listening list of BBC 4 for her teaching because she can not connect to the BBC website in China at the present.

    In China, people would hardly see the news reporting from BBC. Most of time, the BBC website is not available. Why? There is no technical reason but only because of the content of BBC news coverage. For example, this week, BBC reported a student “riot” in southern Jiangxi Province of China. Chinese people in other parts of country would never know this event because this kind of news could not be shown in front of  public. The news censorship of China is so strict and detailed and if a coverage  contained some information  which might destory the security or stability of the country, wherever it came from, it would be limited.

Monday, 23 October 2006 BBC News   Closure notices are in the windows of several stores Discount retailer Hyper Value is to close nine of its 15 stores in Wales because of a fall in trade.The south Wales-based chain was set up in 1980 and employs 400. It is not known how many jobs will be affected. It was founded by the late Ken Rogers whose “stack it high and sell it cheap” philosophy saw its empire stretch into south west England. The company said Barry Island funfair, which it also owns, will not be affected by the changes. Closure notices have appeared in the windows of several Hyper Value stores in south Wales and it has been holding a “warehouse clearance” sale this month. In a company statement, chairman Ian Rogers said: “The business has traded below expectations in the last few years so we have, regretfully, decided to close a number of loss-making stores whilst we seek alternative strategies for the remaining business. “With the support of financial guarantees from Hilco, Hyper Value recently offered a settlement payment to its creditors equivalent to 45p in the pound. “The directors have today confirmed that they have received acceptances from over 95% of creditors and hope to make the first of two payments to creditors in the next seven days.” The company statement also announced the sale of its stores in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Southampton, and Weston.

At present, the football team of Cardiff taking the first place in the Coca-Cola Football League Championship. There is a big chance for them to participate in Barclays English Premier League(FA Premier League) match next year. At the same time, Cardiff set out a new stadium plan.

The stadium project, which includes a 438,700 sq ft retail development on the 60-acre site, has been dogged by delays and negative publicity for many years.

For people who live in Cardiff, especially for football fans, they are both great news. Supposedly, two or three years later, we would be able to enjoy a high level football  match in a mordern and luxury stadium.

However, there are some worries about these changes. The security and the serenity of the city would suffer from huge challenge. Maybe citizens have to  adjust themselves to these new situations.