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Speed, Safety and Freshness Are Survival Code to E-Grocery: Hema Xiansheng CEO
Life after novel coronavirus won’t be the same, and the changes in the making are more epic in the world’s populated country fighting the stigma as the epicenter of the viral disease that has wrecked the year 2020. “Safety and health-consciousness” have never been so emphasized in China, said Hou Yi, chief executive and founder of Hema Xiansheng, China’s online grocery market platform. The world’s biggest population which is also savvy with handset gadget has become used to doing everything from home – ordering, working and doing business, the CEO told Maeil Business Newspaper. When ordering food, consumers are more lured to fresh ingredients and healthy home-cooked meals. Hema Xiansheng, the only Chinese supermarket chain operating both online and offline channels, virtually dominates Chinese online grocery scene. Its business has been gaining steam during the COVID-19 crisis, with its sales more than tripling. Founded in 2015, the company went under the Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group in March 2016. Its founder Hou is now serving as Alibaba’s vice president. Hema Xiansheng is at the center of Alibaba’s ‘New Retail’ strategy, a vision introduced by Alibaba founder Jack Ma in 2016. The goal of the strategy is creating new consumer experiences by connecting every aspect of retail including online, offline, logistics, payment and digital. Hema offers free 30-minute deliveries of fresh produces within a radius of 3 kilometers from stores. Hou said during the interview that the company keeps upgrading item lineups, supply chain and personalized marketing under the goal of providing ‘delicious life’ to consumers. Living within 3 kilometers of Hema stores has become one of the important standards that determine people’s quality of life, he added. In order to optimize inventory and reduce losses, the company runs entire distribution processes on big data, artificial intelligence and automation technology with the help of ecommerce giant Alibaba. It predicts demand based on weather, time, region, demographic characteristic and trend studies through its broad database established by Alibaba’s e-commerce platform Taobao and mobile payment system Alipay. The company employs smart analysis tools and online-offline integrated system to optimize inventory, he said. For instance, if a certain product has a large stock, consumers can receive information about discount of the product and buy it without physically visiting the store, he added. Preparing for the post-COVID-19, the company is striving for ‘zero toxicity’ to add consumer concerns over health and safety. As consumers now have high interest in healthy food and produces, it has extended food items containing zero growth enhancer, artificial hormone and chemical pesticide from organic vegetables to every vegetable, fruit and meat, he said. He predicted new technology would create more employment, far from destroying jobs. He said traditional retail industry didn’t need engineers but Hema Xiansheng’s delivery service needs many of them. The company created more than 30,000 jobs this year and is worried about being short on hires instead of excess in the future. Hema Xiansheng plans to help more Korean food and beverage companies enter the Chinese market by hiring Min Kyung-il, who has been serving as a bridge between Korean and Chinese firms for more than 10 years, as brand strategy adviser. He said he would provide online and offline platforms to Korean small- and mid-sized firms to enter and settle in the Chinese market. Korean food industry is very advanced and can offer opportunities for the company, he said. △ Hema Xiansheng"s chief executive and founder Hou YiBy Yoo Joon-ho, Park Eun-jung and Choi Mira
2020.06.23
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Asian Nations Advised to Tread Carefully Amidst the US-China Tug-of-War: WKF
Asian countries under growing pressure to take a decisive side in the escalating hegemony conflict between the United States and China must join forces to restore multilateral framework for global order and seek careful balance in national and common interests, regional experts agreed. Although the chance of the U.S. and China entering war is “near zero”, proxy war on behalf of the two superpowers will intensify, aggravating dilemmas for third countries, observed Chung Jae-ho, professor at Seoul National University at the 21st World Knowledge Forum pre-event held on Tuesday under the theme of ‘Impact of G2 Cold War & Measures to Respond’. Ong Keng Yong, Executive Deputy Chairman of The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), said that many ASEAN nations are caught in an awkward position where they have to choose between long-time ally - the U.S. - and major trading partner – China. He added a prudent leadership is needed now more than ever because many Asian countries rely heavier on China to drive growth in their economies. He advised that the nations should take different strategies for different issues. The U.S. places security and democracy as its national interest and China sovereignty and economic development. It is hard to define where South Korea’s priority lies, said Chung, demanding leadership to draw a consensus on highest priority in national interests to direct foreign strategy. The experts agreed that restoration of multilateralism is the key to normalize global order by ending conflicts of Washington and Beijing. The countries more than ever need to find order within multilateral context, Ong said. ASEAN member nations hope to keep cooperating with both of the countries, and other neighboring nations including Korea and Japan should also enhance cooperation through multiple diplomatic policies, he added. Choi Byung-il, a professor at Ewha Womans University, pointed out that the U.S. who is directly confronting China without help from the World Trade Organization (WTO) is undermining global trade system. Ichiro Fujisaki, President of Nakasone Peace Institute, advised that the U.S. and China could mend their relations if Joe Biden wins the presidential elections this November, so countries also consider that scenario. But Edwin Feulner, President of Heritage Foundation, was doubtful, citing a poll showing 80 percent of Americans responding negative sentiment towards China. Since the Congress also bears bipartisan hostility towards China, the policy line would be maintained regardless of the election outcome. Han Sung-joo, Chairman of Asan Institute for Policy Studies, pointed out that both of the U.S. and China are mounting nationalism to prove their governments’ power and legitimacy. He added the weak leadership in the superpowers bode badly for their countries and international relationship. Speaking for the U.S. government, Feulner argued that China, the world’s second largest economy, should give up its status as a developing nation as South Korea did. He advised that Korea, the U.S. and Japan should join forces to deal with the escalating tensions with China. A full video of the forum is available on the WKF’s YouTube channel. By Yoo Joon-ho, Ahn Jung-hoon and Choi MiraRead in Korean[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]
2020.06.17
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Seoul, Maekyung to Jointly Host Asia’s Largest Tech Event in Sept
Asia’s biggest startup extravaganza to promote up-and-coming enterprises will be held in Seoul in September under the joint sponsorship of the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Maekyung Media Group. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and Chang Dae-whan, chairman of South Korea’s largest business media Maekyung Media Group, signed a memorandum of understanding last week to jointly launch the tech event dubbed “Try Everything.” The convention would be held on Sept. 16-18 at Jangchung Arena and Shilla Hotel in central Seoul, together with Maekyung Media Group’s annual World Knowledge Forum. The hosts expect the conference to be Asia’s premier gathering for startups, similar to the TechCrunch Disrupt in the U.S., Slush in Finland and VivaTech in France. The three-day event will feature 40 lectures, competitions and seminars, along with 80 promotional booths, 30 exhibition booths and 20 meet-up booths. It is expected to bring together 400 startups, large companies, investors and venture capital firms. “The Try Everything conference will catapult Seoul to become a leading startup hub in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Park. By Yoon Won-sup and Kim Hyo-jin[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]
2020.06.16
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COVID-19 Is Opportunity to Digitally Transform Supply Chains: Foxconn Vice Chair
Companies need to be more agile in digitalizing the global supply chain to turn the challenges imposed by the pandemic into business opportunities, Foxconn Technology Group’s vice chairman said.“Changes in the supply chain and market demand have challenged the company to reluctantly face a ‘New Normal.’ Foxconn has been balancing its global operations so the company always operates with a great agility to reconfigure its operations to minimize risk,” Jay Lee, vice chairman of the Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer, said in an email interview with Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper.Based in New Taipei City, Foxconn is the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics and the biggest supplier of Apple products including the iPhone.In addition to his role as Foxconn’s vice chairman, Lee serves as a distinguished professor of advanced manufacturing at the University of Cincinnati and is a member of the Global Future Council on Production at the World Economic Forum. Last year, he was one of the speakers at the World Knowledge Forum, Asia’s largest business forum hosted by Maekyung Media Group.The COVID-19 pandemic has proven disruptive to all companies as well as the global supply chain system, Lee said.“(The pandemic) reset a new baseline with constraints for many businesses including cash flow, materials flow and people flow. In some businesses, a change of suppliers has also involved time constraints in adaptation and certification,” he said.A digital platform for data exchange with remote auditing is becoming a new mechanism, Lee noted, and added that more advances are needed to adopt more digitally connected automation with smart reconfiguration capabilities.“We have to accelerate the digital transformation as well as tolerate the traditional systems to balance its robustness,” he said.Lee pointed out that issues on border and export control during COVID-19 have also added great complexity in supply chain operations. “With the changes and uncertainties of the current trade war, more flexibility and resilience are needed for future global and regional operations,” Lee said.Lee expected recovery from COVID-19 to be slow. But instead of focusing on the damages, he urged businesses to adapt to the changes to uncover new business opportunities. For example, he said Foxconn reconfigured its U.S. plant in Wisconsin, originally set to make liquid crystal display panels, to produce masks and ventilators to meet community needs.Lee saw global companies as having the leverage to use their global resources to overcome challenges and spearhead change. “A global company needs to be a ‘catalyst’ to cultivate new breeds of workforce to tackle any challenges we are facing,” he said.With its seven core technological areas – including cloud, mobile, internet of things, big data, industrial artificial intelligence, 5G and robotics – Foxconn is well positioned for its next strategic transformation, from its focus on efficiency and teaming to digital transformation to new business in electric vehicles and medical and healthcare, Lee explained.“COVID-19 has made Foxconn enter the medical business sooner than planned. It shows its speed and agility for adapting to new challenges and opportunities,” Lee said.By Yoon Won-sup, Yoo Joon-ho and Kim Hyo-jin
2020.06.10
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World Knowledge Forum’s Mascot Jiboongi to Make TV Debut
Jiboongi, mascot of World Knowledge Forum (WKF), will become a fixture on TV and YouTube, to pitch for Asia’s largest annual business forum hosted by South Korea’s leading business media Maekyung Media Group.The name of Jiboongi comes from ji, which means knowledge, and boo-uhng-yi, meaning owl, in Korean. First introduced at the 20th World Knowledge Forum held in Seoul in 2019, Jiboongi symbolizes one’s search for knowledge.Maekung Media Group on Monday released the birth story of Jiboongi through WKF’s channel on YouTube. The video reveals that Jiboongi is a creature visiting Earth from a planet that is 20 billion light years away. It is about 2 meters tall and has an appearance of an owl. The story goes on to tell Jiboongi has been on a quest to search for new knowledge and gained an opportunity to work with the WKF organization committee.The media group will also introduce Jiboongi in a human sized figure to take part in various events, including a quiz show broadcasted by Maeil Broadcasting Network (MBN). Jiboongi’s first TV appearance will be made through MBN at 11 p.m. on Tuesday.By Yoon Won-sup and Cho Jeehyun
2020.06.09
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