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Alibaba’s Freshippo, or Hema, stores are known for their fresh produce such as seafood. Alibaba wants to take Freshippo to the public.
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Ali Baba Grocery unit Freshippo has expanded its number of physical stores in China, the company said on Friday, as the company prepares to separate from its parent company and go public.
Freshippo, known as Hema in China, plans to open 12 new stores across mainland China in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Grocery stores have become a battleground for China’s two largest e-commerce companies: Alibaba and JD.com.
Last week, JD created a new business unit to house grocery company 7Fresh, and appointed a veteran company to lead the division.
Alibaba’s Freshippo tries to blend the company’s strengths in e-commerce and logistics with the traditional shopping experience. Users can order online and have their groceries delivered, but they can also head to physical stores known for their fresh produce like lobster.
The expansion comes three months after Alibaba split into six separate business units in a bid to return the company to growth. These units can raise capital from abroad and offer for public subscription.
However, Freshippo is a separate, independent subsidiary of Alibaba, and is not one of the six business groups. Last month, Alibaba lit up an initial public offering for Freshippo, but did not give a timeline.
Freshippo has more than 300 stores in China in 27 Chinese cities.
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