SF expands retail footprint with Benlai investment

Delivery giant SF Express has expanded its retail footprint with a $200 million investment in fresh food e-commerce platform Benlai Holdings.

Benlai, which runs several fresh food e-commerce websites and residential chain stores, said earlier this week that it has secured Series D funding from a consortium of investors lead by Shenzhen Mingde Holdings Development Co Ltd, the controlling shareholder of SF Express' listed company SF Holding Co Ltd.

Yu Huafeng, founder and chief executive of Benlai, said the firm has established a new retail model of integrating offline-to-online and business-to-consumer, and the model has started to generate profits.