Going forward, we still have to consolidate the back-end structure, including the integration of distribution resources and the merging of customer resources. As far as possible, we will apply the elimination principle to back-end resources in order to achieve resource sharing.

As for the front-end, we will use the Gome and China Paradise brands to target different consumer groups and attract consumers with diverse preferences to maximize our market share.

I believe the most time-demanding task is the consolidation of the two information systems. Our plan was to complete this by the end of June, though there is a possibility of early completion.

The new Gome is a large enterprise, how do you recognize the execution ability of the management?

The key to the execution ability of an enterprise is the degree of “centralization.” The bigger the enterprise, the more it needs standardization and centralized control. The optimal centralized control is a sophisticated management art.

The new Gome is a large retail-chain enterprise and a listed company. A centralized control system must be implemented, otherwise it is impossible to deploy resources in different regions. However, as differences in business and operating environments in different regions of China are significant, the specific regional conditions must be taken into consideration. Our priority now is to leverage our strengths to change the operating environment of the industry.

Another important job is the establishment of the customer database, without which customer orientation doesn't mean anything.

If the new Gome can solve the above-mentioned problems in a short period of time and increase the efficiency of operations and management, we will be able to achieve accelerated growth going forward. Very few enterprises can practice “detail-level management”--this is my current objective and main focus for 2007. The new Gome has set its goals, and the execution has to be done.

What are your personal plans?

After all these years, I have a thorough understanding of the special conditions and the capital market in China. How can Chinese enterprises grow and become conglomerates? How can Chinese enterprises enter the international capital market? All these need a lot of people. When I step down from the current position, I might go into investment consulting because I have a lot of investment experience.

I'm close to 50, but I still feel young and energetic. I hope to articulate a good blueprint for the new Gome and pass it on to the next generation of leaders. By 2015, when I may feel a little tired, I hope to become Gome's planning strategist.

Gome Looks to Raise $800 Million

Since Gome acquired China Paradise in 2006, it has moved quickly to consolidate its position as the strongest electronics retailer in China. As part of its efforts, Gome plans to raise $800 million.

Gome CEO Chen Xiao says that the firm will use all funds raised to upgrade its software and hardware facilities to further increase the company’s core competitiveness, in an effort to deal with new competition from global retailers such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, which opened stores in Shanghai in January.

In particular, most of the money will be spent on improving settlement conditions with suppliers, boosting the firm’s profit-making capacity and competitiveness. The rest will be used to build regional logistics centers, upgrade the existing Enterprise Resource Planning system, acquire some stores and renovate the current stores.

Starting early this year, the retailer began to implement a “big store strategy,” that is, to increase the scale of its stores instead of opening new smaller ones. In addition to slowing the pace of new store openings, Gome shut down 40 of its 850 stores that had suffered serious losses in March.

Gome plans to increase sales volume to $32.5 billion by 2012, roughly equal to Best Buy’s global total in 2006. Benefiting from the acquisition of China Paradise, Gome’s net profit in the first quarter of this year soared 75 percent to reach 169 million yuan