How can Alibaba change RT-Mart? Since Alibaba invested 22.4 billion yuan (US$3.43 billion) in the retail chain’s parent company, Sun Art Retail Group, the answer to this question has become much-anticipated.
This is the largest attempt to transform a commercial retail enterprise along "new retail" lines in China so far. "I strongly believe that Alibaba’s internet genes, big data resources, and technological capabilities, when added to Sun Art’s retail genes, store management experience, and high efficiency, will react to create a new retail model," Zhang Yong, current CEO of Alibaba Group, wrote (while serving as Sun Art’s chairman).
On June 11th, RT-Mart announced that 100 of its outlets have already completed their upgrades to the new standard. The new stores draw on the experiences gained from Hema Fresh and allow users within 3 kilometers of any store to avail themselves of free one-hour delivery of grocery orders over 29 yuan (US$ 4.44) through the Taobao app.
The...
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