Lower tier boost for Sun Art

Chinese hypermarket operator Sun Art Retail Group says a move into lower-tier cities is bearing dividends.

The group, a joint venture between French retailer Groupe Auchan SA and Taiwan’s Ruentex Group, says its profit rose 4.8 per cent last calendar year.

Sun Art, already China’s largest hypermarket operator despite intense competition from Tesco, Carrefour and Walmart, opened 49 new hypermarkets during 2014, expanding its chain to 372.

On Sunday the retailer announced its profit for 2014 was 2.91 billion yuan ($464.15 million) compared with 2.78 billion yuan ($442.64 million) in 2013.

Sales rose from 86.2 billion yuan to 91.9 billion and gross profit margin by 1.3 percentage points to 22.9 per cent.

Same store sales slipped 1.6 per cent as consumers enjoyed wider choice in the market and consumer spending was largely subdued.

In the year ahead, Sun Art says it will continue to open new hypermarkets in lower tier cities and increase sales in its eCommerce business.