In 2000, the sales revenues by the top 100 retail enterprises totaled 137 billion yuan, or 4 percent of the domestic total of consumer goods sales. State-owned public enterprises appeared on top of the 100 list. The leading 10 among thetop 100were Shanghai Hualian Supermarket, Shanghai Hualian Department Store, Dalian Department Store, Shanghai First Department Store, Shanghai Agriculture-Industry-Commerce Supermarket, Sanlian Trading House, Shanghai Yuyuan Shopping City, Jiangsu Suguo Supermarket, Shanghai Jinjiang Maidelong Shopping Center and Chongqing Trading House.

They accounted for over 30 percent of the top 100's total retail sales. Among the top 100, large department stores dealing in traditional way still held sway while chain business enterprises accounted for less than one quarter. Regional distribution of the top 100 is unbalanced. Much more companies are located in the east than in the west. Nearly 30 of them are in Shanghai and Beijing.

In 2001, the whole west region was home to only nine of the top 100, with the sales value totaling 14.69 billion yuan. The other ninety-one concentrated in east and middle regions, 15 of which were in Beijing (with sales value of 38.22 billion yuan), 13 were in Shanghai (with sales value of 58.25 billion yuan), and 13 were in Jiangsu (with sales value of 25.79 billion yuan).

In recent years, the booming of chain supermarkets, franchised stores, specialized stores and warehousing stores have vitalized the circulation industry of China and are challenging the traditional retailing enterprises.

By the end of 2000, there were 10,174 incorporated retailing enterprises with sales value above the state's quota (annual sales value exceeding 5 million yuan and the number of staff is no less than 60) and with 2.166 million employees. Among them 4,616 enterprises were state-owned with 909,000 employees; 2,505 were collectively-owned with 324,000 staffs and the rest 588 were privately owned with 78,000 employees.

Sales of consumer goods at domestic market increased steadily. In 2002, the total retail sales of consumer goods topped 4 trillion yuan to reach 4,091.1 billion yuan, up 8.8 percent over the previous year. Of this, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas reached 2,589.8 billion yuan, up 10 percent, and the retail sales of consumer goods at and below county level was 1,501.3 billion yuan, up 6.8 percent.

In terms of different sectors, the sales of the wholesale and retail industry reached 2,786.0 billion yuan, up 9.2 percent, the sales of the catering industry was 509.2 billion yuan, up 16.6 percent, and the sales of other industries was 795.9 billion yuan, up 3.2 percent. The real growth of total retail sales of consumer goods was 10.2 percent if price factor was taken into consideration.

Telecommunications, motor vehicles and related products had shaped new hotspots in consumption, and the sales of household electric and electronic appliances were brisk. The total retail sales of telecommunication equipment by wholesale and retail enterprises was up by 69.2 percent over the previous year; that of motor vehicles was up by 73 percent; electric and electronic appliances for household use was up by 14.6 percent.

China's commodity circulation industry is witnessing a rapid development period thanks to the reform of circulation mechanism and the restructuring in this field. However, the present situation is still far from meeting the requirement of national economic development. It remains a weaker link in the national economy. It is still at a lower stage of industrialization and lags far behind the developed countries.

On the whole, outstanding structural problems still exist in the commodity circulation industry. One is that the circulation enterprises are still doing business in a small and scattered way, and are not well organized. In 2000, the sales value of the 273 national major large retailing stores summed up to 107.28 billion yuan, 3.8 percent of the domestic total of consumer goods sales. This situation is quite different from that of the US where the first 15 retail companies account for more than 20 percent of the country's total sales value.

The second problem is that a great disparity exists between the domestic chain store enterprises and their overseas competitors. Application of modern marketing methods is still in its beginning stages. A quite number of chain store enterprises are not strong enough to compete like a modern one. They will have a long way to go to meet the scale of internationally recognized large chain store groups. Shrinking of traditional wholesale trade and inadequate investment in goods logistics centers and distribution centers have restricted the overall development of retail trade.

The third problem is that the gap between urban and rural areas is widening. In 2000, the volume of consumer goods sales increased by 10.6 percent in urban areas and by 8.3 percent in rural areas. The gap was 2.3 percentage points.

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