Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group announced that it will invest approximately $3.6 billion in respect of Sun Art Retail Group Limited, a leading hypermarket and supermarket operator in China.
As part of the transaction, Alibaba will acquire 70.94% of equity interest in A-RT Retail Holdings Limited from Auchan Retail International S.A. and its subsidiary (Auchan Retail) valued at approximately $3.6 billion.
A-RT holds approximately 51% of the equity interest in Sun Art. Following the transaction, Alibaba will consolidate Sun Art in its financial statements. Additionally, Peter Huang has been appointed Chairman of Sun Art in addition to his current role as Chief Executive Officer.
Commenting on the acquisition, Daniel Zhang, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group, said: “Alibaba’s strategic investment in Sun Art in 2017 was an important step in our New Retail strategy. The alliance we formed with Auchan Retail and Ruentex was instrumental in building a robust infrastructure to create opportunities and value in China’s retail sector. Led by Chief Executive Officer Peter Huang, Sun Art has achieved impressive results in its digitalization, and pursued promising synergies with businesses across the Alibaba digital economy. As the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the digitalization of consumer lifestyles and enterprise operations, this commitment to Sun Art serves to strengthen our New Retail vision and serve more consumers with a fully integrated experience.”
Earlier in 2017, Alibaba Group had announced a strategic alliance with Auchan Retail and Ruentex Group to digitalize and introduce New Retail solutions at Sun Art stores, including omnichannel integration and a more personalized customer experience.
Today, all Sun Art physical stores in China have been integrated into Alibaba’s Taoxianda and Tmall Supermarket platforms, providing one-hour and half-day on-demand delivery through deep collaboration with other key businesses across the Alibaba ecosystem, including Ele.me and Cainiao, offering consumers greater product selection and access.
As of June 30, 2020, Sun Art operates 481 hypermarkets and 3 mid-size supermarkets in China, with a focus on strengthening its position through small and offline community stores.
Founded in 2000, Sun Art Retail Group Limited is a Hong Kong headquartered retail company that operates a hypermarket and a growing e-commerce business.
–AN
HrNxt.com Newsdesk has researchers and writers with an excellent domain knowledge about the talent ecosystem, and the business environment. The team keeps a tab on the latest happenings in the ecosystem to bring most relevant news and insights for our readers. You can connect with our newsdesk at newsdesk@hrnxt.com.