Having opened 65 stores in Beijing, the Chinese electronics retailer Dazhong, which was recently acquired by Gome, plans to close four unprofitable stores in Beijing as part of an internal network restructuring.

The four stores are located in Beijing's Fengtai, Haidian, and Xuanwu districts, respectively. The news has been confirmed by a representative from Dazhong and the person said one of these four stores had already been closed and the reasons for shutting down these stores were because of high rent or to avoid internal competition.

A high-level manager from Dazhong said the company would focus on store network optimization in 2009. If it could not find suitable sites, the company would not open new stores this year.

In contrast with Dazhong, another Chinese electronics retail giant Suning will maintain a rapid expansion in 2009. The company previously announced plans to open 20 new stores in Beijing in 2009, adding new blood to its existing 50 stores in this market.