Online retailer Dangdang Inc, considered as China's answer to Amazon.com, aims for sales of general merchandise to exceed that of books and other media as it diversifies in the highly competitive e-commerce sector.

Media products, including books and DVDs, make up about 84 percent of Dangdang's sales, with the remainder from other consumer products such as cosmetics, furniture, shoes and toys.

There is no doubt that sales from general merchandise are going to rise faster than books, and will eventually exceed books, co-founder and Chairwoman Peggy Yu told Reuters via telephone in Beijing on Wednesday.

Yu also said the company had no plans to tap overseas markets, but would focus on China, where its 1.3 billion population is becoming increasingly affluent on the back of strong economic growth.

It's hard to find another massive market like China where there is one language and a common consumer culture, apart from the United States in the 50s and 60s, she said. If we can serve mainland customers really well, our business will have many years of development.

Dangdang shares have fallen by almost 30 percent since hitting a closing high of $32.79 days after its trading debut on December 8, as concern over its competitiveness in China's highly fragmented e-commerce sector.

(Reporting by Huang Yuntao and Lee Chyen Yee; Editing by Chris Lewis)

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