Internet giant Alibaba, which is worth more than $500 billion, has already opened 48 of its "new retail" Hema supermarkets in China. The company's head of marketing for Australia and New Zealand, James Hudson, said the supermarkets aim to merge the online and offline worlds.
Mr Hudson said about 60 per cent of the sales in Hema stores are made via the Hema app, and the other 40 per cent are made in store.
According to Hudson, Australian fresh produce is ‘highly desired’ by Chinese consumers; products such as cherries, beef, wine and southern rock lobsters are proving to be big sellers.
Speaking to ABC Rural, managing director of Alibaba Australia and New Zealand, Maggie Zhou, said fresh food was becoming an "increasingly important segment for Alibaba". The company's long-term globalisation strategy through its supermarkets and online platforms is to connect with 2 billion customers.
In Darwin recently -for a forum on China's One Belt, One Road initiative- Ms Zhou said announcements in the Northern Territory regarding direct flights to Shenzhen and direct freight flights into Hong Kong would enable better market access for northern Australian farmers. "The key factor for consumers in China is [for food] to be fresh, so I think these flights will provide the greatest opportunity for farmers [to send their produce] to China.”
Source: abc.net.au
