Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co., which runs China's largest supermarket chain, and Japan's Izumiya Co. have agreed to sell each other's products and jointly develop goods under their brands.
Shanghai-based Lianhua Supermarket will export more than 200 kinds of goods with sales revenue of 500 million yuan (about 6.725 billion yen) to Izumiya, the eighth-largest retail chain in Japan, by 2005, Lianhua Supermarket said Tuesday.
In return, Lianhua Supermarket will introduce Izumiya's products worth the same value at its retail outlets in China.
Lianhua Supermarket, listed in Hong Kong, has 2,214 retail outlets across China.
"This alliance fully utilizes the branding effect of both Lianhua Supermarket and Izumiya to achieve mutual benefits and growth," Lianhua Supermarket Chairman Wang Zongnan said in a statement.
The two companies said they have considered cooperating in the areas of logistics and distribution, operations management, and information and human resources exchange.
"This is pivotal in enhancing our core advantages, competency and capability in the competition with international players," Wang said.