(Yicai Global) July 24 -- Carrefour China hopes the majority of its newly-transformed and newly-opened stores can be operated as shopping centers.

Some 65 percent of each center will be committed to customer experience within three years, Chen Weimin, vice president, told Yicai Global in an exclusive interview. KTVs, cinemas, restaurants, fitness centers, beauty stores, education, and even spas will be brought in as part of an effort to attract consumers and increase sales.

Chen plans to have all of the firm's recently renovated or opened stores adopt the new model.

"The cost of the transformation depends on the area and the specific project," he said. "Many stores cannot be transformed in one go. Each year will see around 15 percent of the change completed, with the cost per store ranging from several million to more than CNY10 billion (USD1.48 billion). The stores are expected to make returns within two to eight years.

British multinational Tesco Plc [LON:TSCO] and BBK Electronics Corp. have also previously tried the shopping-center model, featuring a range of experience-based services for visitors.

"As they struggle to run their business nowadays, traditional retailers like Carrefour can bring in more consumers and more money," veteran retailer Shen Jun said. "This includes income from rent to offset economic losses from increasing costs and the impact of e-commerce over the past few years."