BEIJING - The Chinese department store operator Intime Store Group Co plans to open 12 new outlets around the country within three years, with others to follow later, in a move designed to make the company a national chain.
Chen Siyu, investor relations manager of Intime, told China Daily that six of the new stores will be located in Zhejiang province, where the company launched its first outlet in 1998.
"We will hold the leading position in Zhejiang and then expand around the country," she said. So far, the company has 23 outlets, with 16 in Zhejiang.
Among the 12 new stores, one will be located in Beijing, while the others will be mainly in second-tier cities, such as Hefei in Anhui province, Xi'an in Shaanxi province and Wuhan in Hubei province.
"Beijing is a new but important market for us," said Chen. Intime's first wholly-owned department store in the capital, with investment of 60 million yuan ($9 million), is scheduled to open by the end of this year.
Chen said that Intime's new projects in Beijing will all be in cooperation with the Beijing-based property developer Metro Land, and its shopping centers or malls will be built along subway lines.
Beijing is currently expanding the subway network and is expected to have around 250 subway stations by 2015.
"The department store industry is at the stage of fast development and companies should seize the opportunity to expand," said Shan Qiwu, a retail analyst at Hejun consulting company, one of China's largest consultancies.
Euromonitor, an international market intelligence researcher, has estimated that sales of China's department store industry have increased annually by 15 percent during the last three years. Total 2010 sales are likely to have reached 685 billion yuan.
The GDP of Zhejiang province increased to 2.3 trillion yuan in 2009, representing an increase of 8.9 percent compared with the previous year. Total retail sales of consumer goods in the province rose to approximately 862 billion yuan in the same year.
Shan added that there has not been a single big player in the national market and it is wise to establish regional dominance where a store chain already has a presence.
"But brand awareness and channel resources should always be valued. That's why different stores perform well in different regions," Shan said.
