Guangdong importer combines offline, online sales in southern expansion

A seafood importer in southern China reckons it has found a way to combine online and offline sales of imported seafood to affluent Chinese consumers. 

Online retailers have struggled with deliveries of fresh seafood to consumers, but Guangdong Chao Hui Aquatic Products Co. expects a new partnership with online seafood retailer Da Hai Wang (cndahaiwang.com) to pay dividends in that area. The company will offer collections through a chain of stores it is opening in the wealthy Pearl River Delta region, which includes the province of Guangdong. The He & Sheng Huo chain (which also uses the English name Homesmart) focuses on sales of live and imported seafood. 

Company chairman Cheng Yuan Chao set up the firm in 2014 to tap into rising demand for premium fresh food in China. A company buyer was at the Seafood Expo Asia this week seeking out new products for Homesmart stores. 

“Up to now there’s been a lot of problems in expanding online sales of premium seafood due to logistics, but we think combining Da Hai Wang with our stores solves that,” the purchasing executive said.