A special unit has reportedly been sent to investigate an intensified price war triggered by rivalry between domestic and foreign chain-store operators in southern China.
The news came shortly after the State Economic and Trade Commission said it intended to formulate rules to tackle 'blind' expansion of chain stores.
Senior officials have raised concerns over the price-cutting strategy by chain-store operators at outlets in Guangdong province, according to Guangzhou-based Web site Qianlong.com.
The State Development Planning Commission had sent a team to the province to investigate the issue, the Web site said. The commission was unavailable for comment yesterday.
China Resources Vanguard Department Store chief operating officer He Zhidong yesterday said that he was not aware of any central government investigation.
But he said it was normal practice for operators to offer incentives to accelerate sales.
China Resources Vanguard is one major operator using aggressive price-cutting to grab market share in southern China's brutally competitive retail sector.