Retail Formats
The Dilemma of Hema
In 2018, when Hema opened in Wuhan, Hou Yi tasted a local specialty called "lotus root" and immediately decided to urgently procure it. With a shelf life of only 72 hours, Hema purchased during the day, air-freighted to Shanghai at night, and sold in stores the next morning, theoretically leaving only 24 hours for sales. In later media interviews, Hou Yi often cited this story as a symbol of Hema—from its inception, Hema was a standard product of consumption upgrade; early on within Alibaba, Hema was nicknamed "the second Tmall."
黎铮