The funding, which will finance up to 75 percent of new-unit costs, will help take the chain to 50 units by year-end.

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These monitor take up only about 25 percent of the desk space needed for a 17-inch CRT unit.

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In May it set up a unit to run its nascent e-commerce operations, preparing to take on established players like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and 360buy.com.

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