(Yicai Global) April 7 -- Suning.Com has promoted Ren Jun, former head of its information technology department, to chairman and president as the struggling Chinese retailer carried out a revamp of its executive level managers and board members.

In an extraordinary shareholders meeting held yesterday at Suning’s headquarters in Nanjing, the company appointed new executives, including various younger names, to lead its product business lines, channels, regions, and services, it announced yesterday. Board members were also changed, it added.

Ren, 46, joined Suning in 1999. He serves as vice president while in charge of technology and financial planning, board member and secretary, and president of the firm’s cloud retail arm. Suning’s founder Zhang Jidong has always supported Ren, who he believes was the one better understanding the company’s strategy.

Suning will continue to execute and improve its strategy of retail services provider, focus on the supply chain and operating service abilities to take special-supply products as key advantages and localized retail as core edges, advance cost cuts and efficiency and profitability enhancements by increasing its digitalization level, and optimize departments to improve the ability to execute strategies, the firm noted.

Moreover, Suning plans to expand the number of its franchised stores in first- and second-tier cities, as well as accelerate the empowerment of small- and medium-sized retailers and expand its networks in third- and fourth-tier cities, counties, and towns. The company also aims to make warehousing, distribution, delivery, and after-sales services crucial business segments.

Suning’s shares [SHE: 002024] closed unchanged at CNY2.15 (15 US cents) apiece today.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione