Yihaodian expands fresh food delivery to Beijing

Yihaodian.com, a leading Chinese online supermarket, will expand its delivery of fresh food, such as fruits and vegetables, to Beijing from August 28 to further tap the online grocery market.

"Fresh food delivery is a strategic sector for both traditional and online retailers," said Guo Dongdong, vice-president of Yihaodian.com, in which the US retail giant Wal-Mart Stores holds the majority stake.

"About 20 percent of the revenues of traditional supermarkets come from fresh and frozen foods. It is a market with the most growth potential for any e-commerce players," Guo said at a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

Guo said the company's fresh food business in Beijing will start with more than 70 varieties of fruit, and expand to fresh vegetables and frozen foods in the coming months.

Beijing is the second city in which Yihaodian.com offers fresh food delivery services. The company first launched the service in March in Shanghai where Yihaodian.com's headquarters is located.

Within five months of the service being launched, the company said it receives more than 1,200 orders per day for fresh food deliveries in Shanghai.

Guo said Yihaodian.com expects to expand the fresh food delivery service to Guangzhou and Shenzhen in October and to Chengdu and Wuhan early next year.