Appliance Retailers Run an Online Marathon, Uphill

(Beijing) -- No one expected the running to be easy when two of China's largest and most competitive retailers started racing a marathon on an e-commerce track.

Indeed, it's been an uphill race ever since Gome Electrical Appliances Holding Ltd. and Suning Commerce Group Co. Ltd. decided in around 2009 to gradually migrate business from traditional storefronts to online retailing.