Hsu Fu Chi partners with JD for logistics breakthrough

Chinese snack and candy maker Hsu Fu Chi International Ltd inked a deal with the nation's second-largest e-commerce player, JD.com, to launch the latter's first "unbounded plant" in South China.

The plant aims to break traditional ways of thinking about consumer goods, the limits of the reach of goods and achieve "shopping without borders".

The Guangdong-based time-honored brand will adopt JD's logistics network, where products need not be distributed through major logistics warehouses, but instead enter the express delivery system directly, which is quicker and more efficient.

Earlier this year, Hsu Fu Chi opened its exclusive offline shop "ChengWeiKongjian" in Dongguan, Guangdong province, offering hand-made pastries in its well-decorated shop to enhance consumer experiences. With the partnership with JD, those with a sweet tooth can enjoy fresh delicacies without the need to go outdoors.

"Orders before 5:00 pm will be finished right away, the cakes will be beautifully packaged and taken by JD courier boys by 5:30 pm. Now, in the South China region, consumers can get the product within 24 hours. Later on, the service will cover the rest of China," said Alexandre Villela, chief marketing officer for Hsu Fu Chi.

Chen Yanlei, vice-president of JD, noted that "with the advent of the era of 'unbounded retail', consumer demand has become increasingly fragmented, and demand scenarios have become more instant. Therefore, the industry needs to change the previous distribution channel, so the distance between the production and consumer end is as narrow as possible."

"In this way, consumer needs are precisely detected, and manufacturers and deliverers can adjust and react flexibly," said Chen.

Lam Yim, CEO of Hsu Fu Chi, said the exclusive shop emerged under the auspices of consumption upgrades and the internet-powered market. In the future, Hsu Fu Chi and JD will strengthen cooperation in fields such as supply chain, big data and intelligent marketing, to bring more vitality to the time-honored brand.

Zhao Yue, an e-commerce specialist at Beijing-based market research firm Analysys, said "the retail mode, combining online and offline stores, is an inevitable trend. The integration makes operation procedures smarter. It enhances consumer experiences while boosting enterprises' sales revenues."