Wing Yip is a Chinese supermarket chain founded by Woon Wing Yip in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1970. The original

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

store also serves as its headquarters and national distribution centre. The company has superstore branches in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

and

Cricklewood Cricklewood is a town in North London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden, Barnet, and Brent. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north-west of Charing Cross. Cricklewood was a small rural hamlet ...

. In addition, the company has expanded into wholesale and export (international trade) and real estate development and management by situating its stores within larger commercial centres. Its

tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...

-based meat substitutes have been popular due to

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

diets since the 2010s.

Founder

The founder, Woon Wing Yip, was a

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

born in Dongguan County,

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, in 1937. He arrived in the United Kingdom from

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in 1959 by boat with . He later opened a restaurant in a former tea shop in

Clacton-on-Sea Clacton-on-Sea, often simply called Clacton, is a seaside town and seaside resort, resort in the county of Essex, on the east coast of England. It is located on the Tendring Peninsula and is the largest settlement in the Tendring District, wi ...

, followed by three restaurants and two takeaways in the

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

region. In 1968, he was joined by his brother, Sammy Yap. In 1970, Wing Yip and Sammy opened a specialist Chinese grocery in

Digbeth Digbeth is an area of central Birmingham, England. Following the remodelling of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is under ...

. In 1977, Lee Sing Yap joined Wing Yip and Sammy. Together, they open a

store on Faulkner Street, and a second Manchester store opens on Addington Street in 1978. In 1996, the Birmingham site grew to with the purchase and development of further land, including a public road. In 1998, Wing Yip and his brothers donated a granite pagoda to the

City of Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. Wing Yip's online shopping site was launched in 2004; it includes recipes, cooking and dining information. It primarily served UK consumers. Wing Yip stocks over 4,500 products in its stores. In 2005, Wing Yip was exhibited at the International Food Exhibition in London. The Wing Yip Group operates from four freehold sites covering and employs around 300 staff.

Awards

* 2006 – Wing Yip was the Winner of The Lord Chan Award for Outstanding Individual. * April 2008 – Wing Yip (Manchester) Ltd. achieved North West Business of the Year in the Ethnic Minority Business Forum Awards. * June 2005 – Tony Ritson, Information Technology Manager for Wing Yip, wins Best Information Security Manager 2005 from '' SC Magazine''. * September 2008 – Birmingham City University presented Wing Yip with an honorary doctorate. * October 2008 – The Mai Siam range achieved Gold Stars at the Great Taste Awards. * 2008 – Wing Yip was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from

Birmingham City University Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 an ...

. * 2010 – Wing Yip was awarded the Lifetime Achievement. * 2012 – Wing Yip was awarded an Honorary Degree from

Aston University Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston'' for post-nominals) is a public university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first College of a ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Supermarkets of the United Kingdom Companies based in Birmingham, West Midlands British companies established in 1970 Retail companies established in 1970 Chinese community in the United Kingdom Retail companies of the United Kingdom

Founder

Awards

See also

References

External links