retail grocery wholesale export grocery real estate founded birmingham england 1969 headquarters birmingham england key people woon wing yip chairman products chinese oriental groceries fresh & frozen products store branded sauces revenue gbp 104.4 million 2014 net income gbp 6.8 million number of employees 300 1 subsidiaries w wing yip & brothers trading group ltd w wing yip & brothers property and investments ltd slogan all the chinese you need to know website www.wingyip.com wing yip traditional chinese simplified chinese transcriptions standard mandarin hanyu pinyin r ng y h ng yue cantonese yale romanization w hng yihp h hng wing yip is a chinese supermarket chain in the united kingdom founded in 1969 . the current birmingham store b7 5nt now also serves as its headquarters office international trading division property and investments online store mail order warehouse and national distribution centre . the company has superstore branches in manchester m4 5hu and greater london namely croydon cr0 4rf and north london m1 jct 1 cricklewood nw2 6ln . in addition the company has expanded into wholesale and export international trade and real estate development management such as siting its stores within larger commercial centres . 2 wing yip have been supplying chinese restaurants and takeaways the chinese community and food enthusiasts with chinese groceries and other authentic products for more than 40 years . contents 1 founder 2 chronology 3 awards 4 wing yip bursaries 5 online shopping chinese supermarket 6 references 7 external links founder edit the founder woon wing yip was a hakka born in dongguan county guangdong china in 1940 . he arrived in the united kingdom from hong kong in 1959 with ten pounds at the age of 19 . with an annual turnover of 80 million pounds he became the first chinese tycoon in the uk . mr wing yip was honoured by her majesty the queen on 10 march 2010 at an investiture ceremony at buckingham palace and awarded an obe for his services to the oriental food industry . mr wing yip said i was so surprised and feel very honoured especially after coming here as an immigrant . i knew when i arrived in the uk that i wanted to be more than a waiter and quickly became head waiter then opened my first restaurant with my business partners in clacton in 1962 . i would like to thank all my staff who have provided me with their support and dedication and made the success of wing yip possible . chronology edit 1959 wing yip arrives in england by boat from hong kong . 1960s wing yip opens a restaurant with partners in a former tea shop in clacton on sea . this is quickly followed by a further three restaurants and two take aways in the east anglia region . in 1968 he is joined by his brother sammy yap who worked in the hotel trade in hong kong . 1970 wing yip and his brother sammy open a specialist chinese grocery in digbeth birmingham supplying more than 1 000 genuine chinese products to restaurants and takeaways as well as to chinese families in and around birmingham . this first wing yip store in digbeth employs fewer than ten people and quickly gains a following in the chinese community and with those interested in chinese cooking . 1975 after five years of trading the business moves to larger premises in nearby coventry street where it is to be based for the next 17 years . the new site offers car parking for customers and attracts chinese business tenants including a travel agent . 1977 lee sing yap joins his brothers wing yip and sammy . together they open a manchester store on faulkner street in manchester s chinatown area which enjoys a thriving restaurant scene . 1978 a second manchester store opens on addington street . this larger site based outside the city centre provides free car parking and other facilities to meet the demands of restaurant and takeaway owners . 1986 the brothers buy and develop a 2.24 acre 9 100 m2 site on oldham road manchester on the edge of the city centre . the manchester operations are brought together at the new premises . 1988 the first london store opens in cricklewood on edgware road a5 next to junction 1 of the m1 . following the success of the birmingham and manchester stores demand grows from customers based in and around the greater london area for a store in the south of the country . 1992 the birmingham business moves from coventry street to large modern premises in nechells in birmingham . the site together with its associated wing yip business centre attracts tenants such as solicitors a doctor and accountants who use it as a base to serve the chinese community . 1995 the wing yip brand of sauces launches to enable caterers and food manufacturers to create authentic chinese meals with the flavour profile of the finest chinese restaurants and takeways . a retail range is also launched . 1995 the second london store opens in croydon on purley way a23 . the site incorporates its own business centre with chinese and malaysian restaurants as well as other chinese businesses . the site becomes a local landmark with its oriental design and wins a croydon design award for its architecture and chinese arch . 1996 the birmingham site grows to 7 acres 28 000 m2 with the purchase and development of further land including a public road . the additional land is developed to include a large modern central distribution warehouse and an oriental style business centre with a range of chinese businesses including two fine restaurants a bank lawyers and accountants . the landmark chinese arch with handmade tiles from china is erected . 1998 wing yip and his brothers donate a 40 foot 12 m granite pagoda to the city of birmingham in thanks to the city and its people for providing a home for them and their families and for the city s support over the years . the pagoda which was hand carved in china is erected at holloway circus close to birmingham s chinese quarter . 2003 the manchester site is redeveloped to provide a truly oriental setting for customers with an enlarged cash and carry store and a new business centre incorporating a successful chinese restaurant a branch of hsbc and other tenants . 2004 wing yip s online shopping site launches 1 primarily to serve uk consumers and orders are received from europe and as far away as australia . the site includes recipes cooking and dining information as well as cultural sections . the wing yip range of sauces finds favour with visitors to the bbc good food show at the nec . 2005 the wing yip exhibit at the international food exhibition at exel in london and tastings of the sauces prove extremely popular with visitors . the redevelopment of the cricklewood site begins . the project will see the building of a new enlarged cash and carry store open to the trade and the public with underground parking a business centre including a chinese restaurant together with an office building all in an oriental style . cricklewood location . 3 2008 mr wing yip was awarded an honorary doctorate from birmingham city university 2010 wing yip scoops lifetime achievement award 2010 mr wing yip obe 2013 the birmingham site undergoes an extensive redevelopment and refurbishment increasing the site to 10 acres 2016 feb death of sammy yap today wing yip continues to exhibit at popular shows the wing yip group now operates from four freehold sites covering 16.3 acres 66 000 m2 and employs 300 staff . other strategic sites in the uk have been proposed and new stores are to be built . awards edit october 2008 the mai siam range achieved gold stars at the prestigious great taste awards september 2008 chairman wing yip has recently been presented with two coveted awards in recognition of his outstanding business success and services to the local business economy . birmingham city university presented him with an honorary doctorate to mark his 36 year contribution to industry in the city . april 2008 wing yip manchester ltd achieved north west business of the year in the ethnic minority business forum awards to celebrate the contribution made by black and ethnic minority businesses . 4 2006 wing yip was the winner of the lord chan award for outstanding individual . 1 june 2005 tony ritson information technology manager for wing yip wins best information security manager 2005 as awarded by sc magazine . 2 2008 mr wing yip was awarded an honorary doctorate from birmingham city university 2010 wing yip scoops lifetime achievement award 2010 mr wing yip obe 2012 mr wing yip was awarded an honorary degree from aston university wing yip bursaries edit wing yip established the w wing yip & brothers bursaries to encourage and provide financial assistance to a set number of students of chinese origin local and from overseas to complete their studies in the united kingdom . since its inception over 300 bursaries have been granted . applications come from across the uk china hong kong malaysia taiwan and elsewhere all demonstrating high standards of achievement in various fields from law and medicine to it and the arts . the board of selectors carefully consider the applicants and agree a select number of outstanding achievers to receive support . successful applicants are invited to attend a special event to receive their bursaries in the heart of london s chinatown . renowned solicitor michael chiu who was previously on the board of selectors said the standard of all the entrants is always excellent and it is an arduous task to decide on the final list of awards . we reach our decisions based on three criteria the students ability in their field ; interest and passion in their subject ; and lastly the nature of the core subject itself which the board considered to be worthy of support . online shopping chinese supermarket edit wing yip online store was set up in 2004 to provide customers who are not able to get to one of the chinese supermarkets easy access to wing yip s products . they also have an online shopping site and a cookery school . references edit a b about wing yip company history . retrieved 2006 07 11 . leyland adam . interview i ll have what wing yip is having . real business online . retrieved 2007 03 26 . dead link taste of the orient sweet for wing yip . birmingham post . retrieved 2006 07 26 . http www.wingyip.com news.html external links edit wing yip group wing yip online store shopping site wing yip on facebook wing yip on youtube wing yip on twitter wingyipstore wing yip on google retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title wing yip & oldid 740323602 categories supermarkets of the united kingdomcompanies based in birmingham west midlandschinese community in the united kingdomretail companies of the united kingdomhidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from september 2010articles containing traditional chinese language textarticles containing simplified chinese language text navigation menu personal tools not logged 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