HONG KONG |
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Two Chinese appliance and electronics retailers, regarded by some as the country’s answers to Best Buy Co Inc (BBY.N), are racing to beef up their e-commerce arms and tap the booming but highly competitive online retail market.
Although relative latecomers to the game, analysts say the moves by Suning Appliance Co Ltd (002024.SZ) and GOME Electrical Appliances Holdings Ltd (0493.HK) are still timely. The companies can capitalize on e-commerce to broaden their customer bases at a time when appliance demand has been damped by a slowdown in China’s housing market, they said.
The benefits are clear: lower cost distribution across the geographically huge market without the need to open new physical retail outlets.
“The time is definitely right and arguably it is late for the retailers to get into e-commerce, given that many consumers have established online shopping habits,” said Dale Preston, managing director of Nielsen’s Greater China Retail Measurement.
E-commerce is booming in China. Forrester Research
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