Chinese e-commerce platform Hema Fresh launches cross-border shopping

SHANGHAI -- E-commerce platform Hema Fresh, Alibaba's fresh-food chain, has announced a cross-border shopping project that helps Chinese consumers purchase imported goods quickly and easily.

The new project was announced on Friday at a press conference about the construction of an international consumption center in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, to which the new project will be linked.

Hema Fresh will deliver imported goods to customers' designated addresses through its bonded online shopping model of cross-border e-commerce.

This not only creates a new business model for domestic consumers to purchase imported goods, but also provides a practical example for Pudong as an international consumption center, according to Hou Yi, CEO of Hema Fresh.

According to Yang Chao, deputy head of Pudong New Area, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Pudong exceeded 300 billion yuan ($45.8 billion) in 2019.

Hema Fresh opened its first store in Pudong's Jinqiao in 2016. In 2020, the company established its headquarters in Pudong.