SHANGHAI - Seven months after it entered the Chinese market, the international consumer electronics retailer Media Markt on Thursday revealed plans to expand its presence across the nation.
Media Markt China, a collaboration between the Germany-based electrical goods retail group Media-Saturn-holdings GmbH and its Chinese partner Foxconn Technology Group, plans to open two to three more stores in Shanghai by the end of 2011 and operate up to 12 stores in the city by 2012, according to Ton Wortel, chief executive officer of Media Markt China.
"We are on track to expand in accordance with our plan for 2011 and 2012. By the end of this year, we will have six stores open in Shanghai, and we will work on our expansion in Shanghai until the end of 2012," said Wortel.
After establishing its presence in Shanghai, the group plans to enter an aggressive expansion phase from 2013 to 2015, ramping up its presence by opening more than 100 stores throughout China.
The group's first two stores are meeting expectations for consumer traffic and consumer spending, according to the company. The company cut its teeth in China's electronics market with the opening of its first store in November 2010 on Huaihai Road in Shanghai, and it intends to use the experience to define and blueprint its further strategic development in China, said Wortel.
The second store is located among residential and commercial areas in the central Pudong New Area.
The group's third store, located in the Baoshan district of Shanghai, will open on Friday. Like the second store, it is close to residential areas with large potential for consumer goods spending.
A Media Markt survey shows one-third of customers revisited the Huaihai Road store on a monthly basis during its seven months of operation.
Experts expect Media Markt's steady development and adaptation to local tastes will help it take off in the Chinese market.
Although many major retailing companies try to enter the Chinese market they often fail to adapt to it, according to Ben Cavender, associate principal of China Market Research Group, referring to the closures of several multinational companies' outlets in the country earlier this year.
"They do not try to learn the behavior of Chinese consumers. This is a huge mistake," said Cavender,.
The French construction group Compagnie de Saint Gobain SA announced it will pull its La Maison brand from China in March. Likewise, US consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co Inc announced the closure of all nine of its outlets on the Chinese mainland, and its regional retail headquarters in Shanghai, in February. The US do-it-yourself giant Home Depot Inc closed its last Beijing store in January.
