Pioneer concluded a strategic alliance agreement with Suning Appliance Co., Ltd., a major Chinese home electronics mass retailer, on November 20, in an effort ro strengthen and expand the home electronics business in China.

Through this alliance, Pioneer plans to expand the sales its existing audio visual products taking advantage of Suning?s sales infrastructure and expertise in the Chinese market and strong sales channels covering major cities all over China.

On the other hand, Suning will be granted with a license to use the Pioneer brand for domestic Chinese sales of flat-screen TVs, which Suning is developing with the cooperation of Pioneer.

Expanding in the China's huge market is extremely important for Pioneer. However, it is essential to efficiently solve challenges such as geographical dispersion and distribution mechanisms in order to accelerate its business expansion. Pioneer is already dealing with an intense competition in the territory.

Suning Appliance is a large-scale business group in China, with about 900 stores in major cities in China, and it has been realizing remarkable growth in recent years.