Hong Kong-based Four Seas Mercantile Holdings Ltd. will partner with Chinese startup EasyGo to open an unmanned Okashi Land confectionery store in Guangzhou, China, the South China Morning Post reported Feb. 2, citing EasyGo co-founder Fele Wang.
Four Seas reportedly is finalizing a location for its flagship store in Guangzhou, where EasyGo is headquartered.
EasyGo operates 100 unmanned convenience stores in 10 cities in China and sells Four Seas products in its Pearl River Delta stores in the southern mainland, the report said.
Customers who shop at EasyGo's stores use the Tencent Holdings Ltd.-owned WeChat app to scan a QR code before entering a store and to check out items at exit, according to the report.
Self-service retail has been gaining momentum in China, the South China Morning Post said, giving examples of self-checkout retail initiatives by Tencent, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. JD.com Inc. and Suning Commerce Group Co. Ltd. JD.com recently signed a partnership agreement with Hong Kong-based Fung Retailing Ltd. to develop a new retail format, including unmanned stores and smart shopping assistants.
E-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. also launched unmanned outlets, while U.S. supermarket chain operator Kroger Co. recently announced the launch of self-checkout service in nearly 30 of its stores in 2018.
