Spanish chain store operator DIA Group has assigned a letter of intent with the Beijing Shoulian Group, which will lead to the launch of dozens of discount stores in Beijing and a number of other cities in north China next year.
According to the document, DIA will team up with the Beijing Shoulian Group in a retail joint venture to run its chain stores in China.
In its initial stage, DIA plans to open 20 to 30 discount stores each covering some 300 to 500 square meters in residential areas.
DIA's discount stores will mainly sell food. The company expects to open 50 discount stores in China every year.
DIA is affiliated to France's Carrefour. Its discount stores in Beijing will offer price tags some 10 percent lower than those of Carrefour stores in the city.
Beijing's retail business maintained a two-digit growth for four years to reach 159.35 billion yuan by the end of 2001 with the number of large supermarkets in the national capital reaching 3,200.
However, officials with the commerce department said that the scale and development of Beijing's commodity circulation still lags far behind that of developed countries. The city's chain store sales only accounted for 12.9 percent of its total retail.
(eastday.com May 17, 2002)
