Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news

A price war on air conditioners is on the horizon just ahead of the peak summer consumption season as a leading home appliance retailing chain in Shanghai has announced price cuts to boost sales, today's Oriental Morning Post reported.

Last weekend, Shanghai Yongle Household Electrical Appliances Co. marked down prices on the air conditioner products of 24 key brands, the report said.

In a bid to prevent protests from suppliers from interrupting the price war, Yongle purchased 500 million yuan (US$60.5 million) in appliances before the price move, Huang Jianping, Yongle's market manager, said.

A year ago, the retailer staged a similar price war, but had to end it ahead of schedule because the suppliers, in strong protest against the move, halted supplies.

This year's campaign has also made suppliers knit their brows, as Yongle said it has received protests from such key air conditioner makers as Gree, Hitachi, TCL and Aux. 

The suppliers have said they reserve the right to take further actions depending on the situation. But Yole still stands firm and has made no response yet to the protests, the Oriental Morning Post report said.