Chinese electrical appliances retailer Gome plans to pursue online business opportunities after its nine month consolidated earnings fell to 687 million yuan (US$110.2 million) from 1.79 billion yuan (US$287.2 million) a year ago.

The retailer says it will accelerate the integration of ecommerce to rebound from falling sales.

Sales revenue for the nine months to September 30 declined 18.2 per cent to 36 billion yuan (US$5.7 billion). The retailer closed 102 stores during the period, taking the total store count to 1070.

“The home appliance industry declined across all levels in the first half of this year,” said Gome chairman Zhang Dazhong.

Demand for home appliances started to dampen last year when the Chinese government ceased its subsidies that encouraged consumers to replace old appliances with new.

Gome also attributed its profit fall to its price war with rivals such as Suning and 360buy. Gome offered huge discounts in response to competitors.

Dazhong, however, is optimistic the company will enter a new phase of development.

“We believe that Gome’s business performance will improve and that we will continue to maintain our leadership position in the home appliance retail industry in China,” he said.

GB