The China Chain Store and Franchise Association says that the total sales of China's top 100 chain stores and franchisers reached CNY855.2 billion in 2006, an increase of 25% over that of the previous year, and electronics retailers were tops.

Electrical appliance retailer Gome ranks first among the top 100 chain stores and franchisers with a total sales volume of CNY86.93 billion from its 820 stores. Other electrical appliance retailers, including Suning, Five-star, Dazhong and Hisap have also achieved good results. Each of their sales and store numbers increased by an average of 56% and 54%, respectively, which is far higher than other types of franchise businesses.

In 2006, foreign retailers were also active in China. While rapidly opening new stores, they sped up their acquisitions. This includes Best Buy's acquisition of Jiangsu-based Five Star Electrical, and the Home Depot's acquisition of Home World. 2006 also saw the many new retailing related policies and rules coming out in China.