• On 1 January, 1987, GOME Group opened its first specialty retail shop of electrical appliances in Beijing;
• In 1993, the brand name "GOME" was first adopted at all its retail outlets in Beijing. This was the first version of the evolving retail chain model in China
• In 1998, it summarized its decade-long experience in the sector by publishing the "GOME Operating and Management Handbook";
• In July 1999, it established its first store outside Beijing in Tianjin, thus commencing its nationwide retail coverage strategy;
• In October 2000, it invited tenders for the first ever ten-million RMB purchase order of color televisions. The act was termed by some economists as "commercial strength and capital at work";
• In November 2000, a management seminar on "GOME Model" was held in Beijing, with participation of government officials from State Ministry of Information Industry, State Economic and Trade Commission, State Trade Bureau, State Council Development Research Centre, etc. and a number of renowned academics in China. The purpose of the seminar was to debate development strategies at GOME Group;
• In 2001, GOME Group was ranked eighth in the Hundred Giants of Retail Chain Stores in China and first in the home electrical appliance retail sector;
• In November 2001, GOME Group launched a large scale service campaign – "GOME Service Project" in which a number of service pledges were introduced. Such pledges were ground breaking at the time in China and made GOME Group a pioneer in the customer service arena;
• In July 2002, it hosted the "China Cellular Phone Summit Forum" in Beijing;
• In December 2002, it convened the "2002 China Color Television Summit Forum" in Beijing;
• In December 2002, it launched the "2003 Home Electrical Appliance New Products & Premium Expo" in Shanghai;
• In 2003, China State Economic and Trade Commission - Trade Market Bureau announced the 2002 ranking of chain enterprises. GOME Group was fourth overall but first in the home electrical appliance sector;
• In September 2003, GOME Group was ranked as one of the "Top Ten National Cellular Phone Outlets" by Ministry of Information Industry;
• In November 2003, the first flagship outlet outside Mainland China was established in Hong Kong;
• In December 2003, it joined hand with renowned film director Mr. Feng Xiu-gang in undertaking joint interactive promotional campaigns in major cities all over China in conjunction with the debut of a major New Year movie "Cellular Phones";
• In 2004, State Ministry of Commerce announced the results of the top 30 chain store enterprises in China in 2003. GOME Group was ranked third but was first in the home electrical appliance sector as it continued to dominate the sector
• In February 2004, it launched the "Rainbow Service Project" in forming service alliances with renowned home electrical appliance manufacturers such as Haier, Hisense, Kelon, Shinco, etc. The press event was broadcast live by the Beijing Television Station;
• In February 2004, the "2004 GOME Worldwide Strategy Summit" was held in Beijing. The purpose of the summit was to encourage closer collaboration between enterprises at different levels of the supply chain with the objective of reaching common goals and greater mutual success;
• In March 2004, the "2004 GOME Air-conditioner Popularity Trend Press Conference" took place in Beijing. Voted by consumers, inspected by GOME Group, and certified by the authoritative China Home Electrical Appliance Research Centre, 12 brands of air conditioners won the "GOME Golden Medal". This campaign created meaningful recognition by consumers and effectively boosted the sales of the overall air conditioner market;
• In the first half of 2004, GOME Group ranked second in chain store enterprises in China, and continued to dominate its trade by remaining first in the household electrical appliance retail sector;
• In August 2004, GOME Group started exploring another retail format in the form of boutique shops;
• In August 2004, the Company was successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange;
• The Group announced the Four-Year Growth Initiative at the beginning of 2005;
• The Group completed a number of acquisitions and divested of its non-core legacy businesses in 2005;
• In January 2006, the Company announced a strategic alliance with leading private equity investor, Warburg Pincus;
• In March 2006, the Company announced the acquisition of the remaining 35% equity stake in Gome Appliance, which is the Company’s principal operating subsidiary in China. The deal was successfully completed in May 2007;
• In July 2006, the Company announced a HK$5.2 billion merger with China Paradise;
• On November 30, 2006, the merger with China Paradise was successfully completed;
• On January 31, 2007, the shares of China Paradise were delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange;
• On April 17, 2007, the Company announced its 2006 annual results;
The Group has a long history of operations in China. In 1987, the Group's first electrical appliance retail outlet was opened in Beijing and the brand name "GOME" was first adopted in 1993, which marked a significant milestone in the development of its chain store network. By 1999, the Group took the first step outside Beijing and established its first retail outlet in Tianjin. Since then, the Group has rapidly expanded into other major cities in China and gained widespread consumer awareness and acceptance. In July 2004, the Group obtained a listing status in Hong Kong through an asset injection of a 65% stake in GOME Appliance Co., Ltd into a Hong Kong listed company. In August 2004, the listed entity officially adopted the name "GOME Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd".
Since its establishment in 1987, GOME Group has persistently pursued the corporate philosophy of "Business Opportunities for Mutual Prosperity". With aggressive development in the retail business of electrical appliances and consumer electronic products in mainland China, the Group has become the largest and most influential retail enterprise in the industry. In 2004, it was selected as one of the "Key and Strategically Important Enterprises" in China by the Ministry of Commerce.
At the beginning of 2005, the Group announced the Four Year Growth Initiative spanning 2005 - 2008. Under the Growth Initiative, the Group aimed to enlarge its network coverage and to raise its national market share to 10-15% by the end of 2008.
In 2005, the Group added 143 traditional stores and entered 44 new cities, bringing the total store network to 259 traditional stores and 4 digital stores at the end of 2005. In the same year, the Group achieved revenue and net profit of approximately RMB18 billion and RMB777 million respectively.
In 2006, the Group continued to expand its network resources. At the same time, it successfully completed a number of key initiatives, including the strategic alliance with Warburg Pincus, the acquisition of the remaining 35% equity stake in Gome Appliance, and the merger with China Paradise. At the end of the year, total store count reached 587 stores, including 572 traditional stores, 13 digital stores and 2 flagship stores. The total network spanned across 160 cities. Total revenue and net profit reached approximately RMB 24.7 billion and RMB819 million respectively in 2006.
Going forward, the Group will capitalize on its market leadership in the industry and further expand its sales networks, enhance its management team, empower its employees, improve its risk management policies, and strengthen its capital structure with the objective of serving its stakeholders and creating value for its shareholders.
