New World Department Store China expects annual gross sales from its mainland stores to top 12 billion yuan (HK$13.62 billion) in the next five years through the expansion of its 33-outlet network and a nationwide rebranding exercise.
The five-year plan for the department store was mapped out last week by executive director Adrian Cheng Chi-kong, the grandson of the founder of New World Development (NWD), Cheng Yu-tung.
The target would turn New World into China's third-largest operator by sales and is about 20 per cent higher than last year's gross revenue of 10 billion yuan.
The mainland retailer controlled by NWD was listed on the stock exchange in 2007.
Armed with an annual cash flow of about HK$3 billion, the firm would expand its network partly through acquisitions in second-tier mainland cities, said Cheng.
To compete with the growing popularity of mega shopping centre operators, he plans to open a department store in Beijing next year targeting women customers. The store will be staffed exclusively by young males under 30 and, depending on its success, a second could be opened in Shenyang, Liaoning province.