JD.com teams up with neighbourhood stores
Richard Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JD.com
Chinese e-commerce leader JD.com is to offer franchised fresh fruit sections to the country’s small retailers. The “JD’s Good Fruits” initiative allows small independent shop owners access to JD’s fresh fruit purchasing, supply chain and logistics operations. Neighbourhood shops are a common feature of Chinese towns and cities, and the first “JD’s Good Fruits” franchised fruit section was opened last month at a small store in Beijing. Participating shop owners are supplied with branded signage and can order their fresh fruit inventory online, with orders subsequently delivered by JD Logistics.
The shop owners can take advantage of digital marketing and sales tools, such as community group buying, whereby customers place orders for in-store pickup via their phones using the WeChat messaging app.
A JD.com press release stated:
“Mom-and-pop stores often face challenges of quality procurement, transportation and storage. During the pandemic, with a shortage of supply from wholesale markets, many small shops lacked procurement channels. Product offerings and the ability to negotiate good prices are also often restricted due to the limited scale of mom-and-pop operations. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the community has played an important role in ensuring people’s daily life, as movement restrictions have made proximity more relevant. As a result, the ‘community-based economy’ has faced both extraordinary opportunities and challenges.”
The new franchised fruit shop programme is expected to provide JD Fresh with a means of tapping into a new sales channel.
