(Yicai Global) Aug. 11 -- Gome Retail Holdings and JD.Com announced their first joint procurement plan yesterday.

The arrangement is expected to top out at CNY30 billion (USD4.3 billion). Its subject products are traditional major appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, washers, air conditioners, kitchen and bathroom appliances, and emerging popular small appliances and computing, communication and consumer goods, The Paper reported yesterday.

This is the first joint purchasing action the two Beijing-based firms have made since online retail giant JD.Com bought USD100 million in convertible bonds from offline electrical retailer Gome Retail and they formed a partnership in May.

The pair will buy 3.6 million sets of energy-efficient air conditioners for CNY10 billion, and 2.1 million TV sets costing CNY5 billion, about 79 percent of which are the most popular 55-inch and 65-inch TVs.

They will also purchase 2 million multi-door large-capacity refrigerators and large-capacity drum washing machines for CNY5 billion.

The joint purchase order also includes various kitchen, bathroom and small home appliances with a total value of CNY5 billion, as well as smart phones and digital products worth another CNY5 billion, including 1 million Apple, Huawei, Huawei Honor and Xiaomi brand smart phones.

Gome Retail used to be a heavyweight in the offline retail era, but began to lag behind its main rival Suning.Com since the advent of online retail. Capital and business cooperation with emerging e-commerce platforms JD.Com and Pinduoduo has been a key strategy for Gome Retail in recent years to try to shed its troubles and revive its business.

Editor: Ben Armour