Chinese e-commerce giant JD is planning on a widespread store network expansion within five years.

The firm will open 20 E-Space experience stores in first-tier cities, 300 home-appliance flagship stores in prefectural-level cities and 5000 stores in towns and villages by 2025, according to the firm’s senior VP Yan Xiaobing.

Yan made the announcement at a press conference marking the completion of JD’s full acquisition of home-appliance chain 5Star, commenting that the complete store network “will create a new offline JD”.

The E-Space stores, known for allowing consumers to try anything in store, will be 50,000–100,000sqm in size, while the home-appliance stores will be 10,000–20,000sqm each.

5Star, to be renamed JD 5Star, is the third-largest home-appliance chain in the territory, with annual sales of more than US$2.6 billion.

“The Covid-19 pandemic took its toll on the home appliance industry in the first of this year,” said China Household Electrical Appliances Association director Jiang Feng. “JD’s acquisition of 5Star could play a key role in driving the industry’s transformation.”