CHHB: RM250m capex for omni-channel business venture with JD.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB) intends to invest about RM250 million in capital expenditure (capex) in the next five years following its partnership with JD Worldwide’s wholly owned subsidiary, Beijing Wodong Tianjun Information Technology Co Ltd (JD.com), to develop an omnichannel business model in Malaysia.
CHHB managing director Datuk Jared Lim said the group has allocated RM50 million for initial expenditure on the first flagship physical store spanning 150,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor of the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC).
“As we grow, we will also potentially do a series of funding for the project,” he said at the official signing ceremony and media conference on the licensing and collaboration agreement for an omni channel e-commerce platform here yesterday.
Lim said that once the pilot project is completed in the second half of 2023, the group will go on an expansion trail with five more mega stores nationwide.
“We intend to introduce about 6,000 to 10,000 smart living products, appliances and lifestyle experiences from China to Malaysia via offline, which is our physical stores and at least 10 times more on the online platform,” he added.
Besides the five mega stores, he said, the group also intends to expand into the small retail space by introducing a different kind of experience into Malaysia through advanced technologies that JD Worldwide has developed in China.
JD Worldwide is the cross-border e-commerce platform for JD.com, an international e-commerce company headquartered in Beijing, which has invested in high-tech and artificial intelligence delivery in the world.
CHHB founder and chairman Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew said he is hopeful that the partnership will transform Country Heights and The Mines into a major import or export hub in the country and become a platform for new products in Malaysia.
“We believe this partnership will bring values to Malaysia by transforming the supply chain using the Internet and digital technologies in line with the ‘low cost, high efficiency’ motto,” he said.
Under the collaboration, JDMines Sdn Bhd, a technology incubator, will be established to manage and develop this project while CHHB takes the implementation and execution role of the omni channel business model.