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Learn moreWhen talking about supermarkets, many Peruvians undoubtedly have Wong in mind. A brand that was born with the Wong family, the economic group that until recently operated as the E. Wong Corporation —made up of the five brothers Eduardo, Efraín, Eric, Erasmo and Edgardo Wong Lu Vega—, but which “has ceased to exist” according to a note recently sent by the company to the Superintendence of the Securities Market (SMV).
Although the Wong supermarkets are currently managed by the Chilean holding company Cencosud, this business served to forge the foundations of Corporación E. Wong.
Wong's beginnings
Like any family business, entrepreneurial vision was essential for the start of Wong supermarkets. It was in 1942 when Don Erasmo Wong Chiang and his wife Angela Lu Vega decided to open a small store on Avenida Dos de Mayo, in the San Isidro district. The goal was to turn the store into the best in Lima with the support of his children, who after studying took turns packing, cutting, and taking notes on customer orders.
Hard work paid off. By 1949, the store had grown and had three areas: groceries, sausages, and the bazaar. The family business gained the support of the people for the good service it offered, since the Wongs had a clear idea of putting the customer at the center of decisions.
At the end of 1970, in the midst of a difficult economic and political situation, the Wong family continued to devise alternatives to boost the business. They did so by incorporating new imported products, but always taking care of good service, a key element that made a difference compared to the large commercial stores of the time such as Sear, Scala, Monterrey or Tiendas Todos.
The expansion phase
The 1980s were a milestone for the Wong family. This is due to the fact that expansion began in 1982 with the opening of the first store under the E.Wong brand in the Gutiérrez oval, in the Miraflores district. To ensure success, the children decided to continue with the formula established by the patriarch: to maintain the store concept with a good assortment of products and personalized service.
Competitive prices and good service were essential to keep the business afloat in the years when hyperinflation hit the country. By 1990, the Wong family opened its fifth store E.Wong, now converted into a supermarket, and two years later they opened the first Metro store in Chorrillos.
The difficult economic situation in the country forced several brands such as Maxy, Galax and Todos to part with their stores and cease operations, but in the midst of this context, the Wong continued buying new spaces and They opened more stores in districts such as Surco, San Borja, La Molina and San Miguel.
In 1995, the family business decided to again expand all the stores in the sales area and in the parking lots, in some cases by more than 100%, according to company records.
By 1999, the Wongs had a chain of 15 E.Wong supermarkets, although three stores later became Metro stores.
The arrival of 2000 and the sale to Cencosud
The supermarket chain continued to grow at the beginning of the first decade of the 21st century. Around 2004, the firm opened a new store in the Asian spa and that same year a plan was launched to change its corporate image.
A year later, in 2005, E.Wong announced through the press and TV the closure of all its stores, which caused great surprise among the public. The decision was part of a strategy to publicize the new image under the Wong brand.
By 2007, the family business was expanding in the interior of the country. Trujillo was the first city where Wong opened its first office in the provinces. In that year, the family already operated a total of 44 stores nationwide, registering an annual turnover of over US$ 900 million.
The success of the Wong family did not go unnoticed among the big players in South American retail. In December of that same year, the Chilean holding company Cencosud, controlled by businessman Horst Paulmann, closed an agreement with the Wong Group to take over the entire supermarket chain for US$500 million.
This sale represented the closing of a cycle for the Wong brothers, who later started other businesses in sectors such as retail, sugar, construction, gastronomy, bookstores, lumber and agriculture with the Corporación E. Wong. Now that said firm will be extinguished after almost 14 years, it is certain that the sons of Don Erasmo will remain in force in the business world, albeit on separate paths.
