Suning Appliance, China's second largest consumer electronics retailer, is planning to open 500 new stores in China this year, including 200 in urban settings and 300 in rural areas, the company's chairman said yesterday.

Encouraged by China's efforts to stimulate consumption of household appliances, Suning is working to "expand its presence in China's rural areas in 2010", said Zhang Jindong, Suning Appliance Group's board chairman.

The Nanjing-based company, a retailer of household appliances, consumer electronics, plus office and telecom equipment, said in the long term it will have "a portfolio of 4,000 stores" tailored to the nation's low-income regions, said Zhang.