1-minute free supermarket shopping spree for ten lucky draw winners

Ten people who win the grand prizes in ParknShop's lucky draw will be able to get a “1-Minute Free Shopping Spree,” the supermarket has announced.

Applications for the lucky draw will start tomorrow (October 12) at 1 pm until 11.59 pm October 18, with results to be announced on October 23.

ParknShop revealed that 320,000 people will be randomly selected by the computer system to win a HK$32 million worth of lucky draw.

The lucky draw is part of its plan to rebate to the general public in the second tranche of the Employment Support Scheme (ESS), which the ParknShop has to allot 50 percent of its HK$161.96 million subsidies into its rebate.

Through the lucky draw, 316,990 third prize winners will each obtain HK$100 cash voucher. 3000 second prize winners can get an “Exclusive-for-you” product set and a HK$100 cash voucher each.

Ten grand prize winners will be able to join the “1-minute Free Shopping Spree” and a HK$100 cash voucher.

"On top of what the government has approved, ParknShop will add 10 Grand Prizes of “1-Minute Free Shopping” offer and 3,000 “Exclusive-for-you” Product Sets," ParknShop wrote.

The public can enter the lucky draw, without any purchase, through their website smile.parknshop.com or its event hotline 3699 8822.

Participants have to provide the month and date of birth and a valid Hong Kong mobile phone number.

Aside from the lucky draw, ParknShop has delivered HK$40.9 million worth of cash food coupons to 27 NGO Partners last Tuesday as part of the rebate measure for the ESS.

It said NGO partners will distribute those coupons to 204,500 beneficiaries within this month. Each food coupon is valued at HK$200.

“The NGO partners expect to contact their active and eligible service users and distribute the coupons to them,” ParknShop said.

It added their NGO partners evaluate and select beneficiaries based on the criteria of families receiving School Textbook Assistance/Student Travel Subsidy, Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, recipients of Disability Allowance, and Old Age Living Allowance.

Adding on, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) said that more than 100 grassroots citizens complained they cannot apply for the supermarket’s coupons.

“We have received a lot of complaints that most of the people, they are in a difficult situation and can’t apply for the HK$200 voucher because they are not the NGO members,” DAB’s lawmaker Vincent Cheng Wing-shun said.

DAB contacted all the NGOs partners of ParknShop from September 30 to October 8 this year including Po Leung Kuk, Yan Oi Tong, etc.

They found out that many organizations only accept supermarket coupon applications from members, existing service users, and people who are follow-up by social workers.

“We hope it is not only for the members of NGOs, [but also for] supporting all the people who are facing unemployment, who are facing difficulty," Cheng said.

DAB also suggested ParknShop and Wellcome can increase the rebate from 50 percent of their ESS subsidy to up to 80 percent of their subsidy.