Chinese retail giant Gome today announced the establishment of an online platform company and appointed former senior vice president of Baidu, Xiang Hailong, as the new company's CEO.
In an internal letter, Gome said that in the face of a tough market competition environment, brick-and-mortar retailers are accelerating the transformation and upgrading of their Internet presence, and therefore decided to establish the Gome online platform company.
The company will build a unified digital membership system and innovate all kinds of marketing and operational tools to support the operational capacity of each business module, the letter said.
Xiang Hailong, who left Baidu in May 2019 after a 14-year career at the company, is the Baidu's longest-serving senior executive.
Prior to his departure, he served as senior vice president and president of Baidu Search. Before becoming CEO, Xiang worked for a year as a consultant for Gome.
The move makes Gome the last major retailer in China to go online after Alibaba and JD.com and comes less than two months after its legendary founder Huang Guangyu was released on parole.
On June 24, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court ruled that Huang will be released on parole for a probationary period from the date of his release until Feb. 16, 2021.
It has been nearly 10 years since Huang Guangyu was investigated for stock price manipulation on November 19, 2008.
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On May 18, 2010, the Beijing Second Intermediate Court handed down a first-instance verdict, sentencing Huang to 14 years' imprisonment, a fine of RMB 600 million and confiscation of property of RMB 200 million for illegal business operation, insider trading, disclosure of insider information and bribery of an entity.
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On August 30, 2010, the Beijing Municipal High People's Court ruled in Huang's case that the sentence of 14 years' imprisonment for all three crimes and a fine of RMB 800 million forfeited by Huang will remain unchanged.
The sentence was to run from 17 November 2008 to 16 November 2022.
