Li Bao Ge Comes Aboard Freshippo

To Explore New Retail Opportunities in Food Delivery Market Fully Integrated Online and Offline Operation

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HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – 17 December 2019 – Li Bao Ge Group Limited (“Li Bao Ge” or
the “Company”;
stock code: 1869) announces its launch on Freshippo
to tap into China’s fast growing food delivery and takeaway market, based on the
“New Retail” concept which integrates physical stores for in-store consumption with
an online platform for fast and efficient ordering and delivery.

 

Li Bao Ge and Freshippo have entered into a
cooperation agreement, under which Li Bao Ge will open in-store counters at Freshippo
stores. With exclusive selling rights for Siu Mei products, Le Bao Ge will offer
cooked-on-site Hong Kong-style roast meat (“Siu Mei”) under the “Li Bao Ge”
brand, as well as other specialties such as Cantonese-style soup, dim sum,
dessert and festive delicacies. Freshippo will in turn make available its
digital platforms and on-site facilities to Le Bao Ge and provide technical
support, including its marketing initiatives, online sales resources, delivery
service, potential customers, and establishment of online to offline (“O2O”)
channels.

 

Li Bao Ge undertakes to set up not less than 10 counters
at Freshippo’s stores on or before 15 December 2020. It will leverage Freshippo’s
brand awareness and high traffic to attract more young consumers and develop
multi-channel sales to penetrate the Chinese takeaway and food delivery market.
With the introduction of Le Bao Ge’s Hong Kong style roast meat and other
signature dishes, Freshippo will provide an exquisite shopping experience to
customers. Since the size of the Company’s new in-store counters are
significantly smaller than its customary high-end Cantonese restaurants, the
investment cost will be considerably lowered. This will enable the Company to
transform into a less capital-intensive business model.

Mr. Chan Chun Kit, Chairman of Li Bao Ge Group, said, “We are
pleased to have formed this partnership with Freshippo to jointly develop the fast-growing takeaway and food delivery market. Freshippo is the
most notable player on the mainland embracing the “new retail” concept,
bringing consumers innovative shopping experience unmatched elsewhere. As
online consumption gains prevalence, the competition in the food and catering
industry has extended from restaurants to online order and delivery. With that
in mind, we have decided to adopt a new business model leveraging Freshippo’s
sophisticated digital management platform and big data analysis to develop a
new integrated O2O operation based on an asset-light model. Going forward, Li
Bao Ge will, starting
from the South China region, expand into regions and cities with high
purchasing power and appeal to a younger group of individual and family
customers. We will gradually transform from a conventional banquet dining
operator to a light meal delivery industry player. We will also explore the
opportunities for the retailing of packaged food to accelerate the pace of
expansion and enhance profitability.”

 

At
present, Li Bao Ge operates eight mid-to-high-end Cantonese restaurants in Hong
Kong and Shenzhen. Its revenue is mainly derived from banqueting. The
cooperation with Freshippo will substantially increase the number of Li Bao
Ge’s stores in China. The Company will benefit from more diversified revenue
streams from new O2O sales.

 

Mr. Hou Yi, President
of Freshippo, said, “Freshippo is committed to enriching the shopping
experience on its platform and bringing a new and unique experience to
consumers by introducing diversified retail brands or various restaurants as partners.”

 

Freshippo
is New Retail flagship under Alibaba Group. With fresh foods as the main
attraction, its physical retail stores focus on enhancing customer experience,
while delivery speed is the strong suit of its online business. It has built a
comprehensive commercial channel comprising “fresh food supermarket +
catering + App e-commerce + logistics” with a quick delivery cold chain
distribution system that guarantees deliveries within 30 minutes in a radius of
three kilometers around the store. As of 30 September 2019, there were 170
self-operated Freshippo stores in China.

About Li Bao Ge Group Limited (Stock code: 1869)

Li
Bao Ge Group Limited is a Chinese restaurant group recognised for delivering
Cantonese cuisine and Chinese banquet and dining services. The Group operated
five full-service restaurants in Hong Kong and three full-service restaurants
in Shenzhen in order to provide Cantonese cuisine under the brand name of
“Star of Canton (???)”.
The Group also opened a Jingchuanhu cuisine restaurant in Hong Kong under a new
brand name of “Beijing House (???)”
and established a Thai Restaurant, namely “La Maison D’Elephant (??)” in Shenzhen. All of the Group’s restaurants are strategically
situated in landmark shopping arcades or commercial complexes at prime
locations. The Group maintains a business philosophy of offering quality food
and services at reasonable prices under an elegant and comfortable dining
environment. The Group wishes to diversify
its restaurant business and customer base as well as to expand its market share
in the PRC.