Sun Art is still the leading company in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market in China, says Kantar Worldpanel.

The Sun-Art Group, a JV between Taiwan’s Ruentex Group and France’s Groupe Auchan SA, has seen strong share growth driven by the opening of 45 new RT-Mart stores during 2013. The pace of new store openings has been very rapid compared to RT-Mart’s key competitors and the retailer now has 264 stores across China.

RT-Mart has increased its dominance in the east region where the group now holds a 16.2 per cent share as well as expanding their footprint in the south and west of China where the retailer has historically been less present, it says.

And Sun Art CEO Bruno Robert Mercier said the company plans to open 160 new hypermarkets over the next three years, 99 of which are under construction.

Sun Art outpaced competitors including CR-Vanguard, Walmart, Carrefour, Balian, Yonghui, Tesco and Zhonbai.

Most western retailers have struggled to achieve the same growth and have faced further pressure from local retailers such as Yonghui and BuBuGao. Yonghui’s growth has been particularly impressive with the footprint now touching all city tiers and all four regions. Just two years ago, the retailer did not operate any stores in key cities or in the north and east of China.

Many local retailers have demonstrated any ability to expand operations beyond their heartland at a much quicker pace than the international players which could significantly change the landscape in the coming years, Kantar Worldpanel says.