A delivery worker for Alibaba's Hema Fresh wearing a face mask rides on an escalator behind a man at a shopping complex in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Hubei province, China, Feb 26. — Reuters
SHANGHAI: As people in China retreated indoors in late January to avoid the coronavirus, Alibaba's supermarket chain Freshippo faced a dilemma: online orders for fruit were soaring but supplies were low.
To ease the crunch, Freshippo asked staff to rip up bulk fruit boxes, originally prepared as Lunar New Year gift sets, break them up and sell them individually to serve more locked-down customers.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Subscribe now for a chance to win your dream holiday!
Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
