China’s leading electrical appliance retailer Suning Appliance Co will take majority control of Japanese electronics retailer Laox and open 150 Laox Life stores in China within the next five years, the company said Wednesday.

Laox will issue 257.14 million new shares, worth 9 billion yen ($110.7 million) in total, to Suning. Suning’s overseas wholly owned subsidiary Granda Magic Ltd will hold 51 percent of Laox and become the first majority shareholder, and one of Suning’s overseas affiliates will become Laox’s second-largest shareholder with a 14.3 percent stake.

Shenzhen-listed Suning purchased a 27.36 percent stake in Laox in 2009, and upped its stake in 2010 to more than one third of shares in the Japanese company, finally gaining a controlling stake this year.

The company plans to open 150 Laox Life stores in 25 cities in China in the next five years, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin. Each store will be 10,000 to 20,000 square meters in size, and will offer imported goods including home furniture, toys, watches and musical instruments. 

“We are quite confident in the home appliance market in Japan,” Sun Weimin, vice president of Suning, said, according to the press release e-mailed to the Global Times Wednesday.

Suning announced on June 20 that it was gearing up to expand into overseas markets over the next 10 years, including Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

Sun said that taking control stake of Laox would be helpful for Suning to develop in Japan and the area of Southeast Asia.

“Expanding is a good thing for a company. Only when the company has more distribution domestically and overseas can the influence of the company be strengthened,” Luo Qingqi, a home appliance expert and director of Pa Le Consulting Company, told the Global Times Wednesday.

“Suning can’t compete with other home appliance retailers if it relies only on the brand ‘Suning,’” said Ren Minqi, a home appliance analyst with CIC Industry Research Center.

“Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd purchased Yongle Electronic Appliances and Dazhong Electronics, but the brand effect of ‘Yongle’ and ‘Dazhong’ is still working. 

“Suning can enrich its product lines and compete with other home appliance retailers through the strategy of ‘double brands,’” Ren added.