Japan's leading electronics retailer Yamada Denki plans to invest US$100 million in Shenyang, capital of northeastern China's Liaoning Province, Beijing Business Today reported yesterday.

The newspaper said that a Shenyang trade mission's recent visit to Japan was the catalyst to push forward the retailer's expansion plan to tap the Chinese market. But the publication did not reveal when the store will be opened in Shenyang.

Japanese media reported in May that the company plans to open a store in Shanghai in two years to become the first Japanese electronic retailer to expand business in China. The company targets middle- and high-end customers and mainly sells Japanese-made flat-panel televisions.

"Yamada Denki's entry into the Chinese market won't greatly affect local appliance retailers which can learn from their overseas rivals' experience to enhance their competitiveness," said Liu Bucheng, a home appliance industry expert.

Liu emphasized that the Japanese retailer should have a suitable model for their store development strategy in China or it may end up like United States-based Best Buy which entered the Chinese market in 2003 but has opened only two stores in Shanghai as of August.

The Shanghai store is expected to cover between 5,000 square meters and 10,000 square meters, local media had earlier reported.

(Shanghai Daily September 16, 2008)