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Alibaba upgrading 100 RT-Mart stores with online-offline integration

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said June 12 that its digital transformation of Sun Art Retail Group Ltd. has extended to upgrading 100 stores of the Chinese hypermarket operator's RT-Mart chain.

The move is part of Alibaba's investment in Sun Art, which operates more than 400 hypermarkets under the Auchan and RT-Mart banners. The Chinese e-commerce giant agreed to buy a 36.16% stake in the company in late 2017.

The store makeovers started in March and are based on Alibaba's "new retail" concept combining online and offline operations. Using Alibaba's fresh food-focused supermarket chain Hema as a model, the revamped RT-Mart stores will be equipped with digital infrastructure supporting customer insights, supply chain management, retail technologies, smart logistics and electronic payments.

Hema's supply chain is also being leveraged so that RT-Mart can provide fresh produce, meat and dairy products to the stores.

Customers of the upgraded stores will be able to shop either at a physical outlet or through Alibaba's Taobao app, which will offer most of the products on RT-Mart shelves. In addition, those living within a 3-kilometer radius of the stores can use a one-hour delivery service powered by Hema's logistics and resources.

Alibaba said it plans to revamp another 300 RT-Mart stores by the end of the year, with more possible.