Alibaba opens more supermarkets in Beijing

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced the opening of another 30 Hema Xiansheng fresh-food supermarkets throughout Beijing this year, as internet giants focus increasingly on the lucrative fresh-food retail sector.

The announcement came right before JD’s first fresh food supermarket 7Fresh started its official operation on Thursday, an indication of the increasingly intense competition and rapid expansion of the two e-commerce giants.

With Hema opening in major commercial districts across Beijing, consumers in major areas of the city can have their groceries delivered within a radius of 3 kilometers from the store in 30 minutes.

Hou Yi, CEO of Hema, said the stores are an example of Alibaba’s new retail strategy, which aims to digitalize and transform the traditional grocery shopping experience and integrate online and offline shopping.