China's second-largest e-commerce player JD will open more than 1,000 7Fresh fresh food stores across the country in the next three to five years, eyeing the opportunities emerging from the fresh food retail sector.

JD officially opened its first offline fresh food store named 7Fresh in Yizhuang, Beijing on Thursday. It covers an area of over 4,000 square meters and during its trial operation, the average daily customer flow reached more than 10,000 people. Its second store located in the city's Haidian district is expected to open in the near future.

The 7Fresh store is stocked with thousands of fresh products, including fruit, flowers, imported meat and freshly caught seafood prepared and cooked on-site. Customers in the neighborhood can either take goods to go, or have them delivered to their homes in 30 minutes.

"JD is positioned to bring the premium-quality offline shopping experience to Chinese consumers," said Wang Xiaosong, CEO of 7Fresh and president of JD Fresh. He added the company invests in a premium experience far beyond anything Chinese consumers have experienced before with its efficiency and knowledge of consumer preferences, as well as access to the highest-quality products.

7Fresh offers products directly sourced from top-quality suppliers who have been carefully vetted by JD, as Chinese consumers are increasingly focused on food safety and product supply chains, according to JD.

The store also integrates several advanced technology elements to deliver a personal shopping experience. For example, "magic mirrors" that sense when customers pick up an item of produce, and automatically provide information on a screen about its source, as well as nutritional information, are now being tested.

In January 2016, JD launched JD Fresh as an independent fresh food business unit. With China's largest nationwide cold chain logistics network, JD Fresh is able to offer rapid delivery of tens of thousands of high-quality fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, meat and frozen products sourced from over 2,000 partners.

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn