(MENAFN- Asia Times) One of the largest retailers in China, Suning, announced it is planning to acquire a 100% stake in Dia China and take over all of its existing stores,

Dia is a Spanish international hard-discount supermarket chain, which entered China 10 years ago.

However, in China it has failed to continue the success of its own-brand strategy in Europe. Coupled with the slow pace of expansion and difficult cost controls, Dia China has struggled to reach market expectations.

Suning, which last year said it would resume its brick store development strategy and planned to open 5,000 shops within three years, has eyed Dia's assets for some time.

Dia stores have secured a number of locations inside high-quality communities, one of the highest potential market segments in physical retailing.

Noticeably, retail giants like Suning have been downsizing from hypermarkets to medium and small convenience stores.

According to the China Convenience Store Development report, in the past seven years, China's convenience store industry has maintained double-digit sales growth. In fact, since 2011, it has surpassed the growth rate of other retail formats such as department stores and supermarkets.

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