China's Suning Inks CNY10 Billion Sales Plan With Samsung

Chinese home appliances retailer Suning Appliance and South Korean electronics maker Samsung have signed a new sales plan with a total value of CNY10 billion, in Nanjing the capital of Jiangsu province.

This is reported to be the largest sales plan signed by the two parties, with an increase of 70% compared with their CNY5.88 billion sales plan signed in 2009. With this new move, Suning has become Samsung's second largest partner worldwide.

Choi Gee-sung, the CEO of Samsung, said that the CNY10 billion sales plan is a further expansion based on the current scale of cooperation between the two parties. He said the sales goal has been divided into detailed planning covering the full line of Samsung's products, including sales of CNY4.8 billion for color televisions, CNY2.5 billion for mobile phones, CNY1.2 billion for refrigerators and washing machines, CNY500 million for notebooks, and CNY1 billion for other products.

Choi said that Samsung will simultaneously launch its latest electronics products in China. Samsung also promised that it will regard Suning as its major strategic partner in China and will provide comprehensive support in product supply, supply chain convergence, and international marketing, to aid Suning's international development plan.

Zhang Jindong, the chairman of Suning, said during the signing ceremony that the Chinese home appliances market will continue to develop and the market size is expected to reach nearly CNY1 trillion this year. Suning plans to further enhance its penetration in the third- and fourth-tier markets in China and expand its international market, while maintaining its leading position in the industry in China.

Zhang revealed that Suning will open 200 new stores in China's first- and second-tier cities and 300 new stores in the third- and fourth-tier cities.