Magazines Archives - 2008 September

Gome Electrical Appliances, China
Story 15 - Top 500 Retailers

Gome Electrical Appliances Holdings Limited has a long history of operations in China. In 1987, the group’s first electrical appliance retail outlet was opened in Beijing and the brand name ‘Gome’ was first adopted in 1993.

By 1999, the group established its first retail outlet in Tianjin. Since then, it has rapidly expanded into other major cities in China and gained widespread consumer awareness and acceptance.

In July 2004, the group obtained a listing status in Hong Kong through an asset injection of a 65% stake in Gome Appliance Co, Ltd into a Hong Konglisted company. In August 2004, the listed entity officially adopted the name Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd.

The Gome Group pursues the corporate philosophy of “Business Opportunities for Mutual Prosperity”. With aggressive development in the retail business of electrical appliances and consumer electronic products in mainland China, the group has become the largest and most influential retail enterprise in the industry. In 2004, it was named one of the “Key and Strategically Important Enterprises” in China by the Ministry of Commerce.

In 2005, the group added 143 traditional stores and entered 44 new cities, bringing the total store network to 259 traditional stores and four digital stores at end-2005. In the same year, the group achieved revenue and net profit of approximately RMB18 billion and RMB777 million respectively.

In 2006, the group continued to expand its network resources. It also successfully completed a number of key initiatives, including the strategic alliance with Warburg Pincus, the acquisition of the remaining 35% equity stake in Gome Appliance, and the merger with China Paradise.

At end-2006, total store count reached 587 stores, including 572 traditional stores, 13 digital stores and two flagship stores. The total network spanned across 160 cities. Total revenue and net profit reached approximately RMB 24.7 billion and RMB819 million respectively in 2006.

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