Swedish furniture retail giant Ikea has announced that it will close its trade offices in Chengdu, Wuhan, and Xiamen and employees in these three offices will be dismissed.

International sports apparel maker Nike has announced plans to invest USD99 million to build a new distribution center in the Taicang Economic Development Area, Jiangsu, to reinforce its future development in China.

Jiang Yong, vice president for Suning Appliance, said at a meeting held in Changsha, Hunan that the company would maintain a rapid and stable growth in 2009 by opening at least 200 new stores across China, of which at least 10 out of the 200 stores would be located in Hunan.

Chinese consumer electronics retailer and distributor China 3C Group has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Jinhua Baofa Logistic Ltd., a logistic company in eastern China, through its subsidiaries Zhejiang Yong Xin Digital Technology Co., Ltd. and Yiwu Yong Xin Communication.

The largest retail drugstore alliance in Hubei has been established and 22 chain medical companies in the province will jointly set up a collective purchasing platform.

Retail giant Wal-Mart has announced plans to adopt radio frequency identification for products supplied by its Chinese suppliers from January 2009.