(Yicai Global) April 28 -- Chinese hypermarket chain RT-Mart today opened its first M Club, a membership-only store, in Yangzhou, a city in coastal Jiangsu province.

Given the competition with early movers such as Sam’s Club, Costco, Hema X, and Carrefour Club, RT-Mart does not yet know ho many M Club outlets it will open, Lin Xiaohai, executive director of its parent firm Sun Art Retail Group, told Yicai Global.

M Club is not required to turn a profit within the first three years, noted Lin, who is also chief executive of Sun Art Retail. The business model may be extended in the Yangtze River Delta region if the first store does well, he added.

The store offers about 3,000 categories of goods, and similar to Sam’s Club, Costco, and Hema X, it offers some popular products, Yicai Global found out during an on-site visit.

About 10 percent of the store’s products are own brand, including Pure Egg Cake, with some exclusive and customized goods and price advantages, according to product head She Xianping.

The outlet beyond M Club’s entrance covers 35,000 square meters, similar to a warehouse store.

The store sells daily necessities, home appliances, fresh produce, and even cars.

To entice shoppers, M Club also offers scarce products such as Moutai Zodiac Liquor.

Boxes of M Club’s own Pure Egg Cake form a ‘wall.’

Staff get ready at the tills.

Editors: Shi Yi, Martin Kadiev