Reuters: Global Markets: China's Suning shares jump as it plans network of "super stores"

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China's Suning shares jump as it plans network of "super stores" Sep 5th 2012, 06:16 HONG KONG | Wed Sep 5, 2012 2:16am EDT HONG KONG (Reuters) - Shares of China's top home appliance retailer, Suning Appliance Co Ltd 002024.SZ, rose more than 5 percent on Wednesday amid news that it plans to launch a network of "super stores" to offset slow growth in its core business. Suning, which competes with GOME Electrical Appliances (0493.HK) and is seen by some as China's answer to Best Buy (BBY.N), has been hit by a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy that has sapped consumer demand and led to a 29.5 percent slide in its first-half profit. The company, which operates a network of about 1,700 stores, will open four Suning Expo Super Stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing later this month. It aims to open 20 super stores this year, it said on its web site this week. The super stores will sell everything from books to daily necessities. It planned to operate a network of 400 in the next three years by upgrading existing retail stores, it added. "It's a positive move," said Steve Chow, analyst at Kingsway Research. "In the current difficult environment, it is a way out when not many options are available." The company's Shenzhen-listed shares, which have dropped 21 percent so far this year, rose 5.6 percent to an intraday high of 6.74 yuan, the highest since July 25 and outpacing a 0.5 percent gain in the Shenzhen index .SZSA (Reporting by Donny Kwok and Twinnie Siu; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Matt Driskill) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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