Chinese electrical retail giant Gome says sales by its takeover target Artway during the first half year rose 7.85 per cent year on year, to RMB10.858 billion.

Same store sales rose 3.66 per cent overall, while in second tier cities same store sales rose 5.93 per cent, demonstrating the success of Artway’s focus on smaller centres.

Gross profit margin rose by 0.85 percentage points to 20.28 per cent.

Profit for the period was RMB256 million, up 75.34 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Gome Electrical Appliances, the Hong Kong-listed Chinese electrical appliances retailer – is planning to spend US$11.268 billion acquiring rival Artway, allow it to expand its presence from 269 cities to 436 cities across Mainland China.

As at June 30, Artway operated 590 stores, including eight self-owned stores, covering 17 provinces in China (including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hebei, Henan, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Guizhou, Guangxi, Shaanxi and Xinjiang). It opened 56 stores and closed 22 in the six month period, representing a net increase of 34 stores.