China's Tiens sets up shop in SA

Tiens president Li Jinjuan said the new store was expected to bring new franchise opportunities. The supermarket chain uses a combination of retailing and multilevel marketing.

Tiens has, since 1999, been operating through 30 branches in Africa, mainly through the South African branch as the regional head office.

The group claims to have created about 100 000 job opportunities on the continent and Li Jinjuan said on Friday its expansion in SA would create more job opportunities.

The group said it planned to open stores in Durban and Cape Town, and a Banner Store would be opened in Mombasa, Kenya, in due course.

Chinese consulate-general Fang Li said there were already more than 140 companies from China operating in SA and the number was growing.

“They are all doing well,” he said.

Tiens Group develops and sells health food, healthcare, beauty and home-care products worldwide, to more than 16-million consumers.

Li Jinjuan said that if governments wanted to become more efficient, they should focus on enterprise development.

Tiens is a member of the international Direct Selling Association, which represents 45 direct-selling companies operating in SA.

Source: Business Day

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