Oriental wholesaler Wing Yip has bought land for a major expansion of its Croydon store.

The move will allow Wing Yip to stock more products from countries beyond its Chinese base.

The 50,000 sq ft extension will double the size of its large goods area increase small goods selling space by 60%, and add 160 new parking spaces.

“Historically we’ve always been Chinese while offering a good range of products from other nationalities, but we’re moving to become pan-Asian,” said director Brian Yip.

“People are becoming more experimental as they travel more. Vietnamese and Thai food were becoming particularly popular, Yip added. “Everyone’s had a red and a green curry. The UK as a whole do like spicy food so we’re moving in that direction.”

Work on a 30,000 sq ft extension to its Birmingham HQ began in February and is on course to be completed by October. The £2.5m redevelopment will create a 180,000 sq ft selling area and nearly 10 acres of warehousing space.

Wing Yip’s turnover grew 3.1% to £101.5m in the year to 30 September 2011. Pre-tax profits rose 11.3% to £4.91m.

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