Alibaba’s grocery brand Hema Xiansheng breaks even as China’s Covid lockdowns boost need for online groceries shopping and deliveries
- Sales of fresh foods at the brand, known in Chinese as Hema, were profitable after seven years, said Freshippo’s CEO Hou Yi
- Freshippo will continue buying products from around the world, said Hou, who led a tour to Europe last month to search for boutique beers, drinking water and chocolates
Sales of fresh foods at the chain, known in Chinese as Hema – homonyms that sound like the words for the hippopotamus – were profitable after seven years of development, according to a letter to staff by Freshippo’s chief executive Hou Yi.
Freshippo was created to take advantage of the supply chain prowess of Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall, offering consumers the convenience of online ordering with door-to-door deliveries and in-store dining. Over the years, it diversified into a range of services like the takeaway lunchboxes called Hema F2, its membership store Hema X, and the street-corner convenience store called Hema Mini.
The break-even is a milestone in the new frontier of China’s fiercely competitive retail industry, where a number of internet-powered retailers like Meituan’s Maicai unit and the independently run Dingdong Maicai are vying to deliver fresh produce to consumers.