Zong said that when it comes to the retail industry, the Wahaha Group has many advantages, including strong support from abroad and rich business resources from its beverage business.

According to Zong, the group has won support from many foreign governmental and non-governmental organizations, including the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and UK Trade and Investment.

"Some US retailers have also expressed their wishes to cooperate with us," said Zong. "Meanwhile, we are preparing to discuss cooperation opportunities with Raffles from Singapore and Allanzia from the UK."

He said that Wahaha's strength in the beverage industry can also help to stimulate the development of its retail business.

According to Zong, Wahaha has more than 70 production bases all over the nation, which can provide delivery services. The group also has about 10,000 distributors and more than 10,000 sales employees across the nation, which can facilitate the information flow, and help to monitor and maintain orders for the group's retail business more conveniently.

Zong also said that Wahaha's rich capital reserves will support the retail business.

"Expansion in the retail industry requires heavy investment. Our group doesn't have any bank loans so far and we have rich cash reserves, as much as about 10 billion yuan, which is a great advantage for us to expand our retail business," said Zong.

"The current sluggish market offers good opportunities for us to tap the retail market, because others are not in such a great shape and we have enough money. We have the opportunity to run ahead of them," said Zong.