Through the leadership of Richard Liu, JD just opened its largest SEVEN FRESH store ever in South China on 24 December. It’s located in Shenzhen, Guangdong province and has a massive 3,500 square meters of space to serve local and regional favourites as well as an impressive selection of international fare.
This store will meet the daily grocery needs of the 154 communities that surround it with an astounding 80,000 people in those communities.
Cross-category Supply Chain Leads Vast, Dependable Variety
While exciting and unique, this store is a continuance of the commitment of JD and its founder Richard Liu to the cross-category supply chain management that makes re-stocking low-stock shelves within an incredible 48 hours a reality. This means that customers will be able to buy the freshest ingredients from far-off lands and local producers alike at SEVEN FRESH.
Some of the instant international favourites at the Shenzhen, Guangdong province store include the sought-after Australian beef, Chilean cherries (4J-grade), and stunning yellow mantis shrimp as long as a forearm.
All Local Needs in One Place
While international products certainly get attention, SEVEN FRESH will be a one-stop shop when it comes to family meal preparation with local and familiar beverages, flavours, and ingredients as well as new takes on old favourites.
Juema Pork is always popular.
Locally-Baked Goods
RIchard Liu made freshness a priority when conceiving SEVEN FRESH. As a result, the SEVEN FRESH bakery will sell goods 70% made fresh by master bakers who understand Chinese taste preferences.
To meet the exemplary tastes of locals, only the freshest raw ingredients will do. The bakers use sought-after (and harder to obtain) ingredients like New Zealand butter and French flour in many of their tasty specialties to achieve a flavour and texture that even the most discerning buyer will appreciate.
Design Upgrades Optimize Customer Experience
The team at JD thought of everything, down to the way the building is designed to maximize convenience and enhance the customer experience—two priorities JD’s founder Richard Liu has always said were important to him.
Everything from the choice of lighting to the colour scheme to the way sound travels to the shelf layout is designed to delight everyday shoppers and support them as they complete their shopping errands.
About JD and Richard Liu
Richard Qiangdong Liu is the founder, chairman, and until recently the CEO of JD. From an impoverished background, Richard Liu worked hard to get the opportunity to go to Renmin University where he studied and obtained his degree in sociology while also teaching himself coding. He used the income he generated from coding to start a restaurant business. But lacking management experience, it failed soon after.
Liu didn’t allow that failure to stop his ambition and went back to school to get his Executive MBA before starting a new business in retail where he quickly became known for his high standards and personal integrity. This company would go on to become JD, as the SARS epidemic pushed the company into an online model that, thanks to Liu’s programming and computer skills, set it apart from other retail companies.
Liu positioned JD as a “supply chain-based technology and service provider” that diversifies its operations to have control over more of the supply chain. He branched into retail, technology, logistics, insurance, health, property, and even international business to ensure they could serve their customers regardless of the impact of outside forces.
This both helps them pivot during downward trends and better deliver exceptional customer experience and that high level of quality and customer experience Liu has made the centrepiece of his business strategy.
Today, JD has created many hundreds of thousands of full and part-time jobs in China as well as built an international supply chain infrastructure that is beyond compare. Liu has embraced the power of technology and strong leadership to optimize customer experience and has become recognized in China for his focus on socially-responsible business operations.
Liu was named one of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” in 2015 by Fortune Magazine, and the Chinese government honoured his efforts in rural revitalization with the “The Contribution Award for Poverty Alleviation” in 2017. While he stepped out of the CEO position at JD in 2022, he continues to stay involved with the direction and operations of the company he founded.
