How Alibaba's Freshippo adapted to keep delivering in virus-hit China


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.

Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.

Monthly Plan

RM13.90/month
RM5/month

Billed as RM5/month for the 1st 6 months then RM13.90 thereafters.

Annual Plan

RM12.33/month

Billed as RM148.00/year

1 month

Free Trial

For new subscribers only


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!

   

Next In Tech News

A Chinese firm is America’s favourite drone maker – except in Washington
Alphabet, Microsoft shares jump as investors cheer AI investment
Snap shares jump nearly 30% after Q1 beat
Rescue pup to meme star: The real-life ‘Dogecoin’ dog
Elon Musk is once again richer than Mark Zuckerberg as fortunes reverse
GPS bracelet places 18-year-old at the scene of 11 different break-ins, US cops say
Cat hides in Amazon return package – then ends up in California 700 miles from home
Shopee: Be wary of SMS scams asking for your personal info
Analysis-Tesla's plan for affordable cars takes page from Detroit rivals
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in US if legal options fail, sources say

Others Also Read