Alibaba-controlled Chinese supermarkets drowning in red

HONG KONG -- Sun Art Retail Group, a major mainland Chinese hypermarket and supermarket chain controlled by Alibaba Group Holding, sank deep into red ink in the full year ended in March, presenting further evidence of weak nationwide consumer demand.

Hong Kong-listed Sun Art reported an annual net loss of 1.60 billion yuan ($223 million) for the financial year ended in March, slipping from a net profit of 109 million yuan a year earlier. A sharp drop in revenue of 13.3% to 72.56 billion yuan, and impairment charges of over 1.3 billion yuan on stores and goodwill, weighed heavily on the bottom line.