(Yicai Global) Aug. 19 -- Red Star Macalline Holding Group, one of China's biggest furniture retailers, will form a nationwide sub-brand called Macalline Aijia and open 100 diversified real estate agencies around Shanghai over the next three months. 

Macalline Aijia will expand to the first-tier megacities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, The Paper reported, citing Feng Quanlin, president of the new unit. After that, the firm will go to emerging first-tier cities such as Nanjing and Hangzhou, and explore Henan's Zhengzhou, Anhui's Hefei, as well as other provincial capitals, Feng added. 

Macalline Aijia can leverage its parent's advantages by offering real estate services including design, decoration, retail and maintenance, the Shanghai-based parent told The Paper. The unit will operate 80 percent of its stores and the rest will be franchises, said RSM Chairman Che Jianxin.

In May, Alibaba Group Holding bought CNY4.4 billion (USD639 million) worth of RSM's convertible bonds, equal to about 10 percent of the target firm's market value. The tech behemoth also purchased a 3.7 percent stake in RSM's Hong Kong-traded stock. In July, RSM appointed two non-executive directors from Alibaba.

Last year, RSM boosted its net profit by 10 percent to CNY4.5 billion. Its operating income rose by 30 percent to CNY14.2 billion. 

Editor: Emmi Laine