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China Internet Sector - Who will be the winners in new retail? - Bank DBS
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 DBS Asian Insights
  DBS Group Research • February 2019

                               China Internet Sector
                              Who will be the winners in new retail?
China Internet Sector - Who will be the winners in new retail? - Bank DBS
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China Internet Sector
Who will be the winners in new retail?

Susanna CHUI
Equity Research Analyst
DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited
susanna_chui@dbs.com

Tsz Wang TAM CFA
Equity Research Analyst
DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited
tszwangtam@dbs.com

Produced by:
Asian Insights Office • DBS Group Research

   go.dbs.com/research
   @dbsinsights
   asianinsights@dbs.com

Goh Chien Yen        Editor-in-Chief
Wen Nan Tan          Editor
Martin Tacchi        Art Editor
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04   Who will be the winners in new retail?
06   Investment summary

09   Industry overview
        What is new retail?

        Example of new retail

        Why new retail?

18   New retail’s economic benefit
        Retailers: Improving operating efficiency

        Internet companies: Sharing potential operating expense
        savings from offering new retail solutions

43   “Alibaba’s” and “Tencent + JD’s” market share in
     next three years
        Two camps in new retail - “Alibaba” and “Tencent + JD”

        From “non-exclusive partnerships” to “exclusive partnerships”

        Analysing five key capabilities that Internet companies need to
        succeed in new retail

        Which Internet companies - “Alibaba” or “Tencent + JD” - will
        outperform in terms of GMV?

        How about other players?

76   Appendix: How Internet companies can
     outperform in the long term?
        Offline presence: from Hema to other supermarkets, other
        products categories with low online penetration rates, and
        lower tier cities

        Mobile payment: cashier-free mobile payment technology

        Customer relationship management: consumer behaviour
        tracking technology
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Who will be the winners in
new retail?
                     •   New retail revenue could hit Rmb62bn in 2020F, which is c.13% of Alibaba’s and
                         Tencent’s combined FY17 revenue

                     •   Our research shows that retailers are placing more emphasis on using Internet companies
                         as partners to attract users, with less focus on supply chain capabilities

                     •   “Alibaba” to be the dominant player; Alibaba brings its online presence (i.e. users) from
                         e-commerce to new retail

                     •   “Tencent + JD” to be a smaller player; JD’s logistical advantage over Alibaba is
                         diminishing

                     New retail revenue in 2020F could potentially be c.13% of Alibaba’s and Tencent’s
                     combined FY17 revenue. Alibaba and Tencent have invested more than Rmb100bn in
                     offline retailers since 2014 to develop new retail initiatives. There are concerns that offline
                     investments will drag down margins, however we believe Internet companies will in fact
                     help retailers to improve operating efficiency and monetise through high margin service
                     fees. We estimate that new retail revenue could potentially hit Rmb62bn in 2020F, which is
                     c.13% of Alibaba’s and Tencent’s combined revenue in FY17.

                     “Alibaba” the dominant player; Alibaba brings its online presence (i.e. users) from
                     e-commerce to new retail. We interviewed several industry experts and concluded that
                     retailers attach great importance on whether Internet companies as partners can attract
                     users, which is “Alibaba’s” advantage over “Tencent + JD”. We expect “Alibaba’s” market
                     share in terms of GMV to grow from 75% in 2017 to 78% in 2020F.

                     “Tencent + JD” a smaller player; JD’s logistical advantage over Alibaba diminishes.
                     Retailers are placing less emphasis on Internet companies’ supply chain capabilities in the
                     new retail era versus e-commerce era, which is “Tencent + JD’s” advantage over “Alibaba”.
                     We expect “Tencent + JD’s” market share to drop from 16% in 2017 to 15% in 2020F.
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Market shares of China’s e-commerce platforms in terms of GMV

                               Source: iResearch, Company, DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (“DBS HK”), Thomson Reuters
       Note: Our proprietary research is based on interviews with China’s retailers, Internet companies, and industry experts
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Investment summary

                     N
                                  ew retail encompasses the best of both online and offline worlds. Jack
                                  Ma, Alibaba’s founder, was the first to propose a new retail concept in 2016.
                                  He said new retail takes the best of both online and offline channels to enhance
                                  users’ experience and retailers’ operating efficiency. New retail takes advantage
                     of Internet companies’ online resources (i.e. users & merchants, payment technologies,
                     customer relationship management capabilities, and supply chain management capabilities),
                     and retailers’ offline resources (i.e. offline stores as experience zones and warehouses).

                     New retail might not expand China’s retail sales market, but will raise online
                     penetration and retailers’ operating efficiency. We believe new retail initiatives
                     might not expand the size of China’s retail sales market, but increases retail sales’ online
                     penetration. iResearch forecasts that online penetration of retail sales will grow from 16%
                     in 2017 to 22% in 2020F. Increasing online penetration can increase retailers’ sales per
                     square metre (sqm) with constant operating costs per sqm to improve operating efficiency
                     from operating leverage.

                     Potential savings of operating expenses from new retail initiatives will be
                     Rmb123bn in 2020F. Analysing operating data of Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain
                     and JD’s 7FRESH Supermarket, we estimate ”new retail supermarkets’” and “new retail
                     department stores’” to have 3-6ppt higher OPM. Based on an estimate of China’s retail
                     market size of Rmb49,315bn in 2020F and new retail penetration of 5% in 2020F, a 5.0ppt
                     improvement in OPM will translate into potential operating expense savings of Rmb123bn
                     in 2020F.

                     “Alibaba’s” and “Tencent + JD’s” incremental revenue in 2020F equivalent to 13%
                     of Alibaba’s and Tencent’s combined revenue in 2017. As retailers’ partners, “Alibaba”
                     and “Tencent + JD” (two major Internet camps in new retail) should be able to share the
                     potential operating expense savings of Rmb123bn in 2020F by offering new retail solutions
                     and monetising through commission or advertising fees, logistic fees, and payment fees.
                     Assuming “Alibaba” and “Tencent + JD” will share half of potential savings in operating
                     expenses of Rmb123bn in 2020F, their incremental revenue could hit Rmb62bn in 2020F,
                     which is c.13% of Alibaba’s and Tencent’s combined FY17 revenue

                     “Alibaba’s” and “Tencent + JD’s” estimated market share in terms of GMV in next
                     three years. Alibaba and JD (of “Tencent + JD” camp) are China’s largest and second
                     largest e-commerce platforms, with 75% and 16% market share in terms of gross
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merchandise value (GMV) in 2017 respectively. We interviewed industry experts to analyse
the five key capabilities that “Alibaba” and “Tencent + JD” would require to succeed in
new retail, and make an assessment as to which camp will gain market share in terms of
GMV in next three years:

1. Online presence (i.e. e-commerce platforms’ user resources): Internet companies
   with a large e-commerce platform can attract traffic to retailers’ online and office
   stores. “Alibaba” is China’s largest e-commerce platform, with 75% market share in
   terms of GMV.

2. Mobile payment (i.e. mobile payment market share): Retailers prefer large mobile
   payment platforms that are generally more accepted by users. Tencent (of “Tencent +
   JD”) is China’s largest mobile payment platform among offline merchants, with 50%+
   market share.

3. Customer relationship management (i.e. possessing user data for analytics
   to improve sales): As China’s largest e-commerce and mobile payment platform,
   “Alibaba” offers customer relationship management services using users’ online and
   offline shopping data and has a longer history.

4. Supply chain management (i.e. [i] express delivery and [ii] instant delivery
   capabilities): For (i) express delivery, JD’s JD Logistics (products delivered from its
   regional warehouses within 0.5-1 days) has an advantage over Alibaba’s Cainiao
   Logistics (products delivered from merchants’ warehouses within 2-3 days). Cainiao
   Logistics is catching up by expanding its warehouse network. As for (ii) instant delivery
   (products delivered from merchants’ stores within 30-60 minutes), Tencent’s Meituan
   has a market share of 56% in terms of GMV in 2017, not far above the 41% combined
   market share of Alibaba’s Ele.me and Baidu Deliveries.

5. Offline presence (i.e. more offline retailer partners and track record to
   improve sales productivity): “Alibaba” is the first mover in new retail upgrades of
   supermarket and department stores. Its Hema Supermarket chain is a well-known new
   retail showcase in improving sales productivity. “Tencent + JD’s” upgraded stores are
   more or less the same as the new retail model of Hema Supermarket, except for Scan-
   To-Buy service offered by Tencent.

“Alibaba” the dominant player; Alibaba brings its online presence (i.e. users) from
e-commerce to new retail. Our research shows that retailers attach great importance
on the ability of an Internet company as a partner to attract users, which is “Alibaba’s”
advantage over “Tencent + JD”. We expect Alibaba’s market share to grow from 75% in
2017 to 78% in 2020F.
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                     “Tencent + JD” a smaller player; JD’s logistical advantage over Alibaba is diminishing.
                     Retailers are placing less emphasis on an Internet company’s supply chain capabilities
                     during new retail era versus e-commerce era, which is “Tencent + JD’s” advantage over
                     “Alibaba”. We expect JD’s (of “Tencent + JD”) market share to go down from 16% in
                     2017 to 15% in 2020F.
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Industry overview
                            What is new retail?
                            Alibaba (BABA US) was the first to propose a new retail (新零售) concept in 2016. New retail
                            as described by Alibaba is a seamless integration of online and offline resources, by leveraging
                            on cloud, supply chain management, and payment technology.

                            Similar to Alibaba’s new retail initiative, Tencent (700 HK) and JD (JD US) launched smart
                            retail (智慧零售) and non-boundary retail (無界零售) respectively in 2017, which seamlessly
                            integrates online and offline resources to enhance user experience and offline retailers’
                            operating efficiency.
Market shares of China’s e-commerce platforms in terms New retail / non-boundary retail - definition of GMV

     Online e-commerce                       Partner offline retailers’                            New retail
 platforms’ online resources                    offline resources

  #1 Users and merchants
                                               #1 Offline stores as
                                                experience zones                             #1 Users’ experience
 #2 Customer relationship
      management

      #3 Supply chain
       management
                                               #2 Offline stores as                          #2 Offline retailers’
                                                  warehouses                                 operating efficiency
  #4 Payment technology

 Integration of Internet companies’ online resources (i.e. #1 users                         To enhance #1 users’
 & merchants, #2 customer relationship management, #3 supply                              experience and #2 offline
   chain management, and #4 payment technology), and offline                                 retailers’ operating
  retailers’ offline resources (i.e. offline stores as #1 as experience                            efficiency
                       zones and #2 warehouses)
                                                                                                                Source: DBS HK
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                            In simple terms, new retail takes the best of both online and offline channels. New retail takes
                            advantage of Internet companies’ online resources (i.e. #1 users & merchants, #2 customer
                            relationship management, #3 supply chain management, and #4 payment technology),
                            and partners retailers’ offline resources (i.e. offline stores as #1 experience zones and #2
                            warehouses). This would enhance users’ experience (i.e. increasing user involvement and
                            shortening delivery time, with targeted products and services) and offline retailers’ operating
                            efficiency (increasing retailers’ sales per sqm with fairly constant operating costs per sqm [of
                            most cost components including rental costs, staff costs and depreciation costs]).

                            Example of new retail
                            We take Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain (盒馬鮮生), a well-known new retail showcase,
                            as an example.

                            Offline resource #1: Offline stores as experience zones.
                            Hema Supermarket outlets draw traffic to shop in offline stores close by, and serve as
                            experience zones to offer higher involvement shopping experiences versus pure e-commerce
                            platforms. Users can touch and feel products in offline stores and scan codes on smart labels
                            for detailed information like on online e-commerce platforms.

                            Offline resources #1: offline stores as experience zones

         Users can feel products
            in offline stores and
           scan codes on smart
               labels for detailed
             information like on
                 online platforms

                                                                                                                Source: DBS HK
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                     The proportion of fresh food (i.e. seafood, fruit, and vegetables) on display in Hema
                     Supermarkets is larger than traditional retailers’. This is because fresh food is not standardised.
                     When users order through online platforms, they are subject to risks of receiving fresh food
                     items which are not as described or short weight. Hema Supermarkets thus provides in
                     person experiences to let users touch the products, feel them, and even have them cooked
                     in restaurant area, instead of looking at their pictures/ videos and information on online
                     e-commerce platforms. After the experience in offline stores, users will be confident to
                     increase fresh food orders as well as other products via online platforms. Alibaba disclosed
                     that Hema Supermarkets’ online orders as a percentage of total orders is 60%+ for mature
                     stores that have been in operation for more than 1.5 years.

                     Offline resources #1: offline stores as experience zones

       The proportion of
   “new retailers’” fresh
food (i.e. seafood, fruit,
  and vegetable) on sale
is larger than traditional
                 retailers’

                                                                                                           Source: DBS HK

                     Offline resource #2: Offline stores as warehouses.
                     Besides buyers taking the goods themselves from offline stores, Hema Supermarkets serve
                     as warehouses to offer faster delivery compared to pure e-commerce platforms. Hema
                     Supermarkets can provide instant delivery to users’ homes or offices within a certain distance
                     (i.e. 3km radius) from offline stores nearby (i.e. within 30 minutes) instead of express delivery
                     from warehouses elsewhere in cities (i.e. 1-3 days). Delivery time is critical for fresh food,
                     which are perishable items.
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                            Offline resources #2: offline stores as warehouses

           Staff pick up products
         that users have ordered
           in shopping bags and
          put them on conveyor
          belts which carry them
               to delivery centres

                                                                                 Source: DBS HK
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                       Online resource #1: Users & merchants.
                       Alibaba’s users can search Hema Supermarkets and partner supermarkets on Taobao (淘寶) apps.
                       Alibaba is able to draw users to shop online or offline in a Hema Supermarket located close by.

                     Online resource #1: Users & merchants

     Alibaba’s users can
search nearby for Hema
     Supermarkets and
  partner supermarkets
     on the Taobao app

                                                                                                        Source: DBS HK

                       Online resource #2: Mobile payment.
                       Users can check out via offline stores’ cashiers or order online through Hema apps that is
                       linked with Alipay (支付寶).

                     Online resource #2: Mobile payment

 Users can check out in
 offline stores’ cashiers
          or order online
   through Hema apps
      linked with Alipay

                                                                                                        Source: DBS HK
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                     Online resource #3: Customer relationship management.
                     As users check out or order online through mobile apps, “new retailers” can collect users’
                     purchasing behaviour through universal accounts across their mobile apps. “New retailers”
                     can analyse user data and provide targeted marketing (i.e. targeted products and promotion)
                     versus pure offline stores. Internet companies can help retailers to offer users to purchase
                     with targeted products to achieve large order volumes per SKU on lower number of SKUs in
                     their online stores and offline stores, which would result in higher sales per sqm and higher
                     operating efficiency.

                     Online resource #4: Supply chain management.
                     As mentioned above, Hema Supermarkets can serve as warehouses to offer a 30-minute
                     instant delivery service. In addition to Hema Supermarkets’ own delivery team, Alibaba’s
                     Ele.me (餓了麼), China’s second largest online food delivery platform, has started to deliver
                     orders for Hema Supermarkets and partner supermarkets. Both Hema Supermarkets and
                     Ele.me have intelligence dispatch systems, which can optimise order-rider matching and
                     delivery route planning, based on real time locations of users and delivery riders, to speed
                     up delivery of online orders. Furthermore, digitalised supply chain management enables
                     Hema Supermarkets to collect users’ real-time order data and plan their inventories instantly.
                     Inventory levels can be minimised and thus less food is wasted during supply chain process
                     versus pure offline stores.

                     Why new retail?
                     “Alibaba” and “Tencent + JD” have invested more than Rmb100bn in offline retailers since
                     2014, to develop new retail initiatives. Investors are questioning why Internet companies are
                     investing in offline retailers that have a low-margin business model (i.e. procuring products
                     from suppliers and selling products to customers on cost-plus basis), versus Internet companies’
                     high-margin monetisation model (i.e. online advertising and value-added service fees for
                     online games and other digital content).

                     However, Internet companies’ goal is not to go offline, but to help retailers, especially those
                     product categories with low online penetration, to improve online sales through new retail
                     solutions, and monetise through high-margin service fees.

                     3C and appeal products’ online penetration is high, while food and beverage is low.
                     China’s e-commerce retail gross merchandise volume (GMV) as percentage of retail sales
                     grew from 8.0% in 2013 to 16.4% in 2017, which is high relative to most developed and
                     developing countries.
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Global retail e-commerce penetration (2017)

                                                                                            Source: iResearch, eMarketer, DBS HK

                            As a percentage of retail sales, computer, communication & consumer electronics (3C)
                            products, and apparel & shoes, recorded high online penetration rates of 29-36% in 2017.
                            China’s e-commerce platforms, such as Alibaba and JD, are expanding into product categories
                            with low online penetration rates of 9-25%, such as homewares and home furnishings, food
                            and drink, consumer health, beauty & personal care, and upscale products & services.

                            China’s e-commerce retail GMV

                                                                                                      Source: iResearch, DBS HK
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                     Online penetration of key product categories in China (2017)

                                                                                             Source: Euromonitor, DBS HK

                     Hurdles for certain product categories to go online. Consumers prefer to buy homewares
                     and home furnishings, food and drink, consumer health, beauty & personal care, and upscale
                     products & services in brick-and-mortar stores. This is because food and beverage products are
                     largely perishable items, and may go off with the 1-3 day delivery services. Home furnishing,
                     consumer health and upscale products & services, which have long life, safety issues, and high
                     tickets respectively, may need more consumer involvement (i.e. consumers need or want to
                     touch and feel the products in person). Therefore, consumers prefer buying product categories
                     which are perishable, have high delivery cost, and need more consumer involvement via brick-
                     and-mortar outlets.

                     Product qualities for online sales versus sales via bricks-and-mortar outlets

                                 Low perishability                               High perishability
                                 Low logistics cost                              High logistics cost
                                 Low involvement                                 High involvement

                                             Buy online                     Buy in store

                                                                                                         Source: DBS HK
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                              New retail initiatives help retailers of product categories with low online penetration
                              to go online. New retail which takes the best of both online and offline worlds is emerging
                              to address perishability, logistics and involvement issues of certain products.

                              Offline stores nearby can serve as warehouses and offer 30-60-minute instant delivery service
                              from stores nearby to solve perishability and logistic issues, in addition to express delivery (i.e.
                              1-3 days from warehouses elsewhere in cities). Offline stores can serve as experience zones
                              to solve involvement issues (i.e. touching and feeling products in offline stores and scanning
                              code for detailed information like on online e-commerce platforms), versus pure e-commerce
                              platforms’ relatively low involvement (i.e. looking at pictures/ videos and information of
                              products on online e-commerce platforms).

                              Online platforms can offer digitalised customer relationship management (i.e. universal
                              accounts for different merchants for user data analytics and targeted marketing) and supply
                              chain management (i.e. better inventory planning and express/ instant delivery).

                              The objective of Internet companies investing in retailers is to create new retail
                              showcases to improve online sales, and monetise through high-margin service fees
                              by offering new retail solutions to other retailers. After initial investments in retailers
                              and creating new retail showcases to improve online sales, Internet companies are able to
                              offer new retail solutions to other retailers, especially for product categories with low online
                              penetration. Internet companies would be able to monetise through high-margin service fees
                              (i.e. commission or advertising fees, logistic fees, and payment fees), instead of relying on the
                              low-margin direct sales (IP) business model (i.e. procuring products from suppliers and selling
                              products to customers on cost-plus basis).

Comparison of e-commerce, new retail, and bricks-and-mortar formats

            E-commerce                                  New retail                              Bricks-and mortar

- Relatively low involvement            + High involvement                           + High involvement
- Express delivery is relatively slow   + More delivery options:                     - Self pickup
(1-3 days from warehouses)              express delivery (1-3 days from
                                        warehouses), instant delivery (30
                                        mins from stores), or self pickup
+ Targeted products & services (i.e. + Targeted products & services (i.e. - No targeted products & services
universal accounts for user data     universal accounts for user data     (i.e. no universal accounts for user
analytics)                           analytics)                           data analytics)

 Buy online                New retail takes best of both         online and offline worlds                     Buy in store
                                                                                                                     Source: DBS HK
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New retail’s economic benefit

                     N
                                ew retail initiatives might not increase the size of China’s retail sales market (which
                                will instead grow with per capita household income), but will raise retail sales’
                                online penetration. iResearch forecasts that online penetration of retail sales will
                                expand from 16.4% in 2017 to 21.9% in 2020F. Increasing online penetration can
                     increase retailers’ sales per square meter (sqm; i.e. increasing online sales in addition to offline
                     sales) with fairly constant operating costs per sqm (i.e. rental and staff costs) to improve their
                     operating efficiency on operating leverage, versus traditional retailers.

                     Operating expense savings can be realised by offline retailers from Internet companies’ new
                     retail solutions that include customer relationship management, supply chain management,
                     and payment services, while Internet companies can monetise through service fees (i.e.
                     commission or advertising fees, logistic fees and payment fees).

                     China’s offline retail sales and e-commerce retail sales

                                                                                                    Source: iResearch, DBS HK
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Retailers: Improving operating efficiency
New retail initiatives would lead to (1) higher sales per sqm (i.e. increasing online sales in
addition to offline sales) versus traditional retailers (i.e. supermarkets / hypermarkets,
convenience stores, department stores). Increasing sales per sqm, with (2) fairly constant
operating costs per sqm (of most cost components including rental costs, staff costs and
depreciation costs), will lead to higher operating profit margin (OPM).

Hema Supermarket chain as an example
We take Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain (盒馬鮮生), which is a new retail showcase that
is seeing significant progress in improving online sales and operating efficiency, as an example.

1. Higher sales per sqm. Higher sales per sqm is a result of (i) higher same store sales (i.e.
   increasing online sales in addition to offline sales) and (ii) smaller store area required.

    (i) Higher same store sales: With offline stores functioning as warehouses and
    experience zones to shorten delivery time and increase user involvement, more users will
    lead to an increase in online orders. Hence, “new retail supermarkets’” online sales are
    higher than that of traditional supermarkets, and together with offline sales, this will lead
    to higher overall same store sales. For example, according to operating data of Alibaba’s
    Hema Supermarket chain, Hema Supermarkets’ online orders as a percentage of total
    orders is 68% as at end July 2018, for mature stores (i.e. in operation >1.5 years). Its
    online basket size (Rmb80) is 62% of offline basket size (Rmb129) as at end July 2018.

    (ii) Smaller store area: The store area of a “new retail supermarket” can be smaller than
    that of a traditional supermarket. This is because Internet companies are able to analyse
    user data and provide targeted products with less stock-keeping units (SKUs) overall,
    and thus the area of a single store will be smaller while still maintaining similar sales
    level. As at end July 2018, Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain has 64 branches in first
    tier cities, with each store occupying 5,000 sqm of space on average versus traditional
    supermarkets’ 6,000-8,000 sqm and hypermarkets’ 10,000-20,000 sqm. JD’s 7FRESH
    Supermarket chain has two stores in first tier cities, with each store occupying 5,000 sqm
    on average.

    Hema Supermarket chain’s number of annual offline per sqm is 167% of traditional
    retailers’ as at end July 2018, for mature stores (i.e. in operation >1.5 years), and this is on
    a smaller area of a single store with a similar sales level. Its offline basket size has ramped
    up to 2x traditional retailers’ as at end July 2018, given its premium positioning.

    With higher sales and smaller store area, “new retail supermarkets’” sales per sqm is thus
    higher than that of traditional supermarkets / hypermarkets. Alibaba disclosed that for
    Hema Supermarkets, the average sales per sqm per year for mature stores (i.e. in operation
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                         >1.5 years) is Rmb50,000+, which is >5x that of traditional supermarkets’/hypermarkets’
                         Rmb8,838 on average, according to operating data of listed supermarkets/hypermarkets
                         ranked among the top 20 in China. JD also disclosed that 7FRESH Supermarkets’ sales
                         per sqm is 3-4x that of a traditional supermarket.

                     “New retail supermarkets” have higher sales productivity

                                        Sales
                              (increasing online sales in
                              additional to offline sales)
                                                                                        Sales per sqm
                                                                                     (i.e. 3-5x traditional
                                                                                        supermarkets’)
                                  Single store area
                         (i.e. 5,000 sqm versus traditional
                       supermarkets’ 6,000-8,000 sqm and
                        hypermarkets’ 10,000-20,000 sqm)
                                                                            Source: Company (Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket, JD’s
                                                                                               7FRESH Supermarkets), DBS HK

                     2. Similar gross profit margin, and operating cost (of most cost components) per sqm

                         We expect ”new retail supermarkets” to have similar gross profit margin (GPM), and
                         operating cost per sqm (of most cost components including rental costs, staff costs, and
                         other operating costs [i.e. depreciation costs per sqm]) versus traditional supermarkets.

                         (i) Gross profit margin: We expect ”new retail supermarkets” to have lower gross profit
                         margin (GPM) of 15.0% versus traditional supermarkets’ 22.0% on average, based on
                         operating data of listed supermarkets / hypermarkets that are among the top 20 in China
                         (Sun Art [6808 HK], Yonghui [601933 CH], Hualian [600361 CH], Jiajiayue [603708 CH]).
                         This is because a larger proportion of fresh foods is sold (GPM of 12-15% versus package
                         foods’ 18%).

                         Wastage is one of key factors to affect supermarkets’ GPM. Internet companies have
                         introduced the following initiatives to solve wastage issues.

                         •   Traditional retailers are more experienced in dealing with fresh products, which leads
                             to low wastage. Therefore, Internet companies are partnering with retailers such as
                             Sun Art, Walmart, Yonghui, and Carrefour.
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•   Delivery to customers can raise wastage issues. But these issues have largely been
    addressed by 30-minute instant delivery services from a store nearby, which is shorter
    than the 1-3 day express delivery services from warehouses.

•   Digital supply chain management enables ”new retail supermarkets” to gather and
    analyse real time order data, and plan their inventories instantly. Inventory levels can
    be minimised and less food is wasted during the supply chain process.

•   Catering can help ”new retail supermarkets” to handle fresh food products which
    are about to expire soon.

Besides, ”new retail supermarkets” can adopt self-procurement for certain dedicated
products, plus centralised procurement with Internet companies’ partner supermarkets
for mass products to enjoy economies of scale.

(ii) Rental costs per sqm: We expect ”new retail supermarkets” to have similar annual
rental costs per sqm versus traditional supermarkets’ Rmb273 per sqm on average, based
on operating data of listed supermarkets / hypermarkets that are among the top 20 in
China. While there are concerns that higher sales per sqm will lead to higher rents, ”new
retail supermarkets” are in a strong position to negotiate with landlords as they are able
to attract traffic from their online stores to their offline platforms.

(iii) Staff costs per sqm: We expect ”new retail supermarkets” to have slightly higher
staff costs per sqm of Rmb937 on an annualised basis as at end July 2018, versus
traditional supermarkets’ Rmb746 on average, due to similar offline staff costs per sqm
but higher online staff costs per sqm.

(a) Offline staff costs per sqm: We expect offline staff costs per sqm to be similar
versus traditional supermarkets’ Rmb746 per sqm on average, according to operating
data of listed supermarkets / hypermarkets that are among the top 20 in China. This is
because offline staff numbers per sqm (i.e. store managers and storekeepers) are similar.

(b) Online staff costs per sqm: There are additional online staff required for customer
services and training artificial intelligence (AI) powered customer service chatbots.

Based on Hema Supermarkets’ data for mature stores in operation for >1.5 years, there
were 521 online orders per sqm on an annualised basis as at end July 2018. Assuming
one enquiry per order, there were 521 enquiries per sqm.

Alibaba disclosed that Alibaba’s Xiaomi (小蜜, Alibaba’s AI powered customer service
chatbots) is able to handle 60% of total enquiries, that are more standardised and less
complicated, and a live agent is able to handle 250 enquiries per day on average. This
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                     implies 0.00258 manual customer service staff per sqm, and the annualised online staff
                     costs per sqm of Rmb192 on an annualised basis as at end July 2018, based on average
                     annualised salary of Rmb74,318 (according to National Bureau of Statistics of China).

                     Only a trainer is required for a merchant to train AI powered customer service chatbots on
                     average. Costs are not substantial, using Internet companies’ application programming
                     interface (API) of AI powered customer service chatbots, rather than doing it from scratch.

                     (iv) Other operating costs per sqm (i.e. depreciation costs per sqm): We expect
                     ”new retail supermarkets” to have similar capex, and other operating costs per sqm
                     (i.e. depreciation costs per sqm) versus traditional supermarkets’ Rmb688 on average.
                     Capex and depreciation costs per sqm will increase, when cashier-free mobile payment
                     and consumer behaviour tracking systems, using artificial intelligence (AI) technology
                     with cameras and cloud computing, are adopted. However, industry experts expect new
                     retail’s increasing operating efficiency to come from increasing sales per sqm through
                     higher online sales and smaller store area initially, and saving staff costs through AI
                     technology later (which will be discussed in “Appendix: How Internet companies can
                     outperform in the long term?”).

                     (v) Logistics costs per sqm: We expect ”new retail supermarkets” to have higher
                     logistics costs per sqm of Rmb5,072 on an annualised basis as at end July 2018, versus
                     traditional supermarkets’ Rmb44 on average, due to growing costs for distribution
                     centers and trucks with increasing sales per sqm, and additional instant delivery costs.

                     (a) Costs for distribution centers and trucks. We expect ”new retail supermarkets”
                     to have similar costs for distribution centers and trucks as a percentage of sales versus
                     traditional supermarkets’ 0.5%.

                     (b) Instant delivery costs. The major additional costs are instant delivery costs (i.e.
                     30 mins from stores) in addition to traditional supermarkets’ self-pickup services. Based
                     on 521 annual online orders per sqm (based on Hema Supermarkets’ data for mature
                     stores in operation for >1.5 years) and instant delivery cost per order of Rmb8 (based on
                     Meituan Dianping’s prospectus), total instant delivery costs would be Rmb4,704 per sqm
                     on an annualised basis as at end July 2018.

                     Higher sales per sqm + Constant operating costs (of most components) per sqm =
                     Higher operating profit margin. Increasing sales per sqm, with similar operating costs
                     per sqm (of most cost components including rental costs, staff costs and depreciation
                     costs), will lead to higher operating profit margin (OPM). Based on the above assumptions,
                     we estimate “Hema Supermarket mature stores’” OPM (before service fees to Internet
                     companies) to be 5.5% on an annualised basis as at end July 2018, which is 2x higher
                     than traditional supermarkets’ 2.6%, based on operating data of listed supermarkets.
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Hema Supermarkets improving operating efficiency versus traditional supermarkets

             (1) (i) Sales
(increasing online sales in addition
    to offline sales, online order
       contribution of 60%+)
                                               Sales per sqm               (2) (i) Gross profit margin
                                               (3-5x traditional        We expect Hema Supermarkets to
                                                supermarkets’)          have lower GPM of 15.0% versus
                                                                        traditional supermarkets’ 22.0%,
       (ii) Single store area                                            because of larger proportion of
    (5,000 sqm versus traditional                                                  fresh foods sold
supermarkets’ 6,000-8,000 sqm and
 hypermarkets’ 10,000-20,000 sqm)

 Operating profit                   Sales                      Gross profit                 Operating costs
    per sqm                        per sqm                       margin                        per sqm

 (2) (ii) Rental costs         + (2) (iii) Staff costs   + (2) (iv) Depreciation         + (2) (v) Logistics
        per sqm                       per sqm                     per sqm                  costs per sqm
       New retail                Similar number of        There is similar capex,        Growing costs for
   supermarkets are            offline staff per sqm        unless cashier-free       distribution centers and
  in a strong position      (i.e. store managers and      mobile payment and           trucks with increasing
   to negotiate with        storekeepers), but extra       consumer behaviour            sales per sqm, and
 landlords as they are       number of online staff           tracking, using             additional instant
 able to attract traffic     (i.e. customer services).     artificial intelligence          delivery costs
    from their online                                        (AI) technology
 stores to their offline                                    with cameras and
        platforms                                         cloud computing are
                                                                  adopted.

                                                                                                     Source: DBS HK
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Financial forecast of a Hema Supermarket mature store (i.e. in operation >1.5 years)

Annual amount per sqm (Rmb)        Jan 16     Jan 17     Jan 18      Jul 18               Assumptions
Sales                              5,022      16,247     49,435      73,533   (1) Annual number of orders per
                                                                              sqm x (2) Basket size = Annual
                                                                              sales per sqm, which will be >8x
                                                                              traditional supermarkets' as at end
                                                                              July 2018
Cost of goods sold (COGS)          -4,269     -13,810    -42,020    -62,503   We expect ”new retail
                                                                              supermarkets” to have lower gross
                                                                              profit margin (GPM) of 15.0% versus
                                                                              traditional supermarkets' 22.0%,
                                                                              because of larger proportion of
                                                                              fresh foods sold (based on operating
                                                                              data of listed supermarkets /
                                                                              hypermarkets in the top 20 in China)

Rental costs                        -273       -273       -273        -273    We expect similar rental costs per
                                                                              sqm as traditional supermarkets
                                                                              (based on operating data of listed
                                                                              supermarkets / hypermarkets in the
                                                                              top 20 in China)
Staff costs                         -754       -786       -893        -937    We expect similar offline staff costs
                                                                              per sqm of Rmb746 as traditional
                                                                              supermarkets
                                                                              There is additional online staff
                                                                              costs per sqm incurred for customer
                                                                              services, with less live agents and
                                                                              more AI powered customer service
                                                                              chatbots, using Alibaba’s application
                                                                              programming interface (API) of AI
                                                                              powered customer service chatbots,
                                                                              rather than doing it from scratch
Other operating costs               -688       -688       -688        -688    We expect other operating costs
                                                                              per sqm to be similar to traditional
                                                                              supermarkets (based on operating
                                                                              data of listed supermarkets /
                                                                              hypermarkets in the top 20 in China)
Logistics expenses                  -221      -1,061     -3,873      -5,072   We expect ”new retail
                                                                              supermarkets” to have similar costs
                                                                              for distribution centers and trucks
                                                                              as a percentage of sales versus
                                                                              traditional supermarkets' 0.5%
                                                                              The major additional costs are
                                                                              instant delivery services costs (= [1]
                                                                              [ii] Annual online order number
                                                                              per sqm x instant delivery costs
                                                                              per order of Rmb8 [according to
                                                                              Meituan Dianping])
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Financial forecast of a Hema Supermarket mature store (i.e. in operation >1.5 years) cont.

Annual amount per sqm (Rmb)          Jan 16   Jan 17     Jan 18       Jul 18                       Assumptions
Operating profit (before service     -1,183    -372       1,687       4,059
fees to Internet companies)

Operating profit margin (OPM,        -23.6%   -2.3%       3.4%        5.5%         OPM is 2x traditional retailers’ as at
before service fees to Internet                                                    end July 2018
companies)
Breakdown
(1) New retailers - number of          61      164         469         769         (1) = (i) + (ii)
orders
(i) New retailers - number of          36       91         182         248         Based on operating data of
offline orders                                                                     Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain

(a) Traditional retailers - number    149      149         149         149         Based on China Chain Store Almanac
of offline orders                                                                  2016, China Chain Store & Franchise
                                                                                   Association
(b) New retailers' offline orders    24.4%    61.1%      122.2%      167.0%        Annual offline numbers p.a. per
/ traditional retailers' offline                                                   sqm has ramped up from 24%
orders                                                                             of traditional retailers' as at end
                                                                                   January 2017 to 167% of traditional
                                                                                   retailers' as at end July 2018, given
                                                                                   smaller area of a single store with
                                                                                   similar sales level

(ii) New retailers - number of         25       74         288         521         Based on operating data of
online orders                                                                      Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain
(a) Online penetration               40.3%    44.7%      61.3%       67.7%         Online orders as a percentage of
                                                                                   total orders has ramped up from
                                                                                   40% as at end January 2016 to
                                                                                   68% as at end July 2018, which
                                                                                   is above the level enjoyed by
                                                                                   product categories with high online
                                                                                   penetration
(2) Basket size (Rmb)                  83       99         105          96         (2) = Weighted average of (i) and (ii)
(i) Offline basket size (Rmb)         113      137         153         129         Based on operating data of
                                                                                   Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain
(a) Traditional retailers' offline     59       59         59           59         Based on China Chain Store Almanac
basket size                                                                        2016, China Chain Store & Franchise
                                                                                   Association
(b) New retailers' offline basket    189.9%   230.6%     257.8%      217.1%        Offline basket size has ramped up
size / offline basket size                                                         to 2x traditional retailers' as at end
                                                                                   July 2018, because of the premium
                                                                                   positioning
(ii) Online basket size (Rmb)          38       52         75           80         Based on operating data of
                                                                                   Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain
(a) Online basket size / Offline     33.2%    37.6%      48.9%       61.7%         Online basket size has ramped up
basket size                                                                        from 33% of offline basket size as at
                                                                                   end January 2016 to 62% of offline
                                                                                   basket size as at end July 2018
                                                                    Source: Company, China Chain Store & Franchise Association, DBS HK
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Comparing OPM of traditional supermarkets/hypermarkets and Hema Supermarkets (FY17*)
        Traditional supermarkets / hypermarkets                        “New retail supermarkets”
          (Sun Art, Yonghui, Hualian, Jiajiayue)        (Hema Supermarkets [mature stores in operation >1.5 years ])

               Annual    % of sales Assumptions                        Annual    % of sales Assumptions
               amount                                                  amount
               per sqm                                                 per sqm
                (Rmb)                                                   (Rmb)
Sales           8,838     100.0%    Based on            Sales         73,533     100.0%      (1) Annual order
(Rmb m)                             operating           (Rmb m)                              number per sqm x (2)
                                    data of listed                                           Basket size = Annual
                                    supermarkets /                                           sales per sqm, which
                                    hypermarkets                                             will be >5x traditional
                                    in the top 20 in                                         supermarkets'
                                    China (Sun Art,
                                    Yonghui, Hualian,
                                    Jiajiayue)
Cost of         -6,898     -78.1%   Based on            Cost of       -62,503    -85.0%      We expect ”new retail
goods sold                          operating           goods sold                           supermarkets” to have
(COGS)                              data of listed      (COGS)                               lower GPM of 15.0%
                                    supermarkets /                                           versus traditional
                                    hypermarkets                                             supermarkets' 22.0%,
                                                                                             because of larger
                                                                                             proportion of fresh
                                                                                             foods sold
Rental costs    -273       -3.1%    Based on            Rental costs -273        -0.4%       We expect similar
                                    operating                                                rental costs per
                                    data of listed                                           sqm as traditional
                                    supermarkets /                                           supermarkets
                                    hypermarkets
Staff costs     -746       -8.4%    Based on            Staff costs   -937       -1.3%       We expect similar
                                    operating                                                offline staff costs
                                    data of listed                                           per sqm of Rmb746
                                    supermarkets /                                           as traditional
                                    hypermarkets                                             supermarkets
                                                                                             There is additional
                                                                                             online staff costs per
                                                                                             sqm of Rmb148 for
                                                                                             customer services,
                                                                                             with less live agents
                                                                                             and more AI powered
                                                                                             customer service
                                                                                             chatbots, using
                                                                                             Alibaba’s application
                                                                                             programming interface
                                                                                             (API) of AI powered
                                                                                             customer service
                                                                                             chatbots, rather than
                                                                                             doing it from scratch
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Comparing OPM of traditional supermarkets/hypermarkets and Hema Supermarkets (FY17*) cont.
       Traditional supermarkets / hypermarkets                     “New retail supermarkets”
         (Sun Art, Yonghui, Hualian, Jiajiayue)     (Hema Supermarkets [mature stores in operation >1.5 years ])

              Annual    % of sales Assumptions                      Annual    % of sales Assumptions
              amount                                                amount
              per sqm                                               per sqm
               (Rmb)                                                 (Rmb)
Other          -644       -7.3%    Based on         Other          -688       -0.9%      We expect similar other
operating                          operating        operating                            operating costs per sqm
costs                              data of listed   costs                                (i.e. depreciation) of
                                   supermarkets /                                        Rmb688 as traditional
                                   hypermarkets                                          supermarkets, unless
                                                                                         cashier-free mobile
                                                                                         payment and consumer
                                                                                         behaviour tracking
                                                                                         systems, are adopted

Logistics       -44       -0.5%    Based on         Logistics      -5,072     -6.9%      We expect ”new
expenses                           operating        expenses                             retail supermarkets”
                                   data of listed                                        to have similar costs
                                   supermarkets /                                        for distribution
                                   hypermarkets                                          centers and trucks as
                                                                                         a percentage of sales
                                                                                         versus traditional
                                                                                         supermarkets' 0.5%.
                                                                                         The major additional
                                                                                         costs are instant
                                                                                         delivery services costs
                                                                                         of Rmb3,626 (= [1][ii]
                                                                                         Annual online order
                                                                                         number per sqm x
                                                                                         instant delivery costs
                                                                                         per order of Rmb8
                                                                                         [according to Meituan
                                                                                         Dianping])

Operating       232        2.6%                     Operating      4,059      5.5%       OPM is 1.3x traditional
profit                                              profit                               supermarkets' /
                                                    (before                              hypermarkets' in FY17*
                                                    service fees
                                                    to Internet
                                                    companies)
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Comparing OPM of traditional supermarkets/hypermarkets and Hema Supermarkets (FY17*) cont.

Breakdown
(1) New retailers - number of             769             (1) = (i) + (ii)
orders
(i) New retailers - number of             248             Based on operating data of Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain
offline orders
(a) Traditional retailers - number        149             Based on China Chain Store Almanac 2016, China Chain Store & Franchise
of offline orders                                         Association

(b) New retailers' offline orders         167.0%          Annual offline numbers has ramped up to 122% of traditional retailers'
/ traditional retailers' offline                          as at end July 2018, given smaller area of a single store with similar sales
orders                                                    level

(ii) New retailers - number of            521             Based on operating data of Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain
online orders
(a) Online penetration                    67.7%           Online orders as a percentage of total orders has ramped up from 61%
                                                          as at end January 2018, which is above the level enjoyed by product
                                                          categories with high online penetration

(2) Basket size (Rmb)                     96              (2) = Weighted average of (i) and (ii)
(i) Offline basket size (Rmb)             129             Based on operating data of Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain
(a) Traditional retailers' offline        59              Based on China Chain Store Almanac 2016, China Chain Store & Franchise
basket size                                               Association

(b) New retailers' offline basket         217.1%          Offline basket size has ramped up to 2x traditional retailers' as at end
size / offline basket size                                January 2018, because of the premium position
(ii) Online basket size (Rmb)             80              Based on operating data of Alibaba’s Hema Supermarket chain

(a) Online basket size / Offline          61.7%           Online basket size has ramped up to 49% of offline basket size as at end
basket size                                               January 2018

                                                                                            Source: Company, China Chain Store & Franchise Association, DBS HK
                  * Traditional supermarkets: based on data for 12 months ended December 2017; Hema Supermarkets: based on data for 12 months ended July 2018
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Financial forecasts of a “new retail department store”, based on Hema
Supermarket chain’s performance
We expect other retailers (i.e. department stores such as “Alibaba’s” Intime) to follow Hema
Supermarkets, and adopt new retail solutions to improve sales per sqm and operating
efficiency. Financial forecasts of a newly setup “new retail department store”, based on Hema
Supermarket chain’s performance, are as follows.

(1) Sales per sqm: We expect sales per sqm for a newly setup “new retail department store”
to ramp up from 26% of traditional retailers’ in Year 0 to 2x traditional retailers’ in Year 3 (“new
retail store”: Rmb16,373 vs traditional department store: Rmb7,752 on average, according
to operating data of listed department stores [Wangfujing 600859 CH, Dashang 600694 CH,
Wushang 000501 CH, Silver Plaza 600858 CH, Wenfeng 601010 CH]), supported by higher
(i) online and (ii) offline orders per sqm.

(i) Online sales per sqm. We expect a newly setup “new retail department store’s” online
orders as a percentage of total orders to ramp up from 19% (average online penetration) in
Year 0 to 30% (a level enjoyed by product categories with high online penetration) in Year 3.
With offline stores functioning as warehouses and experience zones to shorten the delivery
time and increase user involvement, users will increase their online orders.

(ii) Offline sales per sqm. We expect the number of offline orders per sqm to ramp up
from 24% of traditional retailers’ in Year 0 to 167% of traditional retailers’ in Year 3, based
on Hema Supermarket chain’s performance. This is because Internet companies can analyse
user data and provide targeted products with less stock-keeping units (SKUs), thus requiring a
smaller single store area while achieving a similar sales level.

(2) Gross profit margin and operating costs per sqm: As discussed above, we expect a
newly setup “new retail department store” to have similar (i) gross profit margin versus
traditional department stores’ 20.9% on average, as commissions as a percentage of
concessionaire sales are comparable; (ii) rental costs per sqm of Rmb172 on average, and
(iii) other operating costs per sqm of Rmb478 (i.e. depreciation costs and utility costs
per sqm), versus traditional retailers. The operating costs of traditional retailers are based on
operating data of listed department stores.

We expect a newly setup “new retail department store” to have slightly higher (iv) staff costs
per sqm of Rmb483 in Year 3 versus traditional supermarkets’ Rmb478, due to similar offline
staff costs per sqm but higher online staff costs per sqm. We expect the annualised offline
staff costs per sqm to be close to traditional supermarkets’ Rmb478 per sqm on average. We
expect additional annualised online staff costs of Rmb6 per sqm to be incurred in Year 3. We
expect 17 online orders per sqm, and potentially 17 enquiries per sqm in Year 3, assuming one
enquiry per order. Based on Alibaba’s Xiaomi’s (小蜜, Alibaba’s AI powered customer service
chatbots) data, such as AI powered customer service chatbots being able to handle 60%
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                     of total enquiries pertaining to those that are standardised and less complicated, and a live
                     agent being able to handle 250 enquiries per day on average, this implies 0.000076 manual
                     customer service staff per sqm in Year 3. Based on average annualised salary of Rmb74,318
                     (according to National Bureau of Statistics of China), the annualised online staff costs per sqm
                     will be Rmb6 in Year 3.

                     We expect a newly setup “new retail department store” to have higher (iv) logistics costs
                     per sqm of Rmb200 in Year 3 versus traditional supermarkets’ Rmb39, due to growing
                     costs for distribution centers and trucks with increasing sales per sqm, and additional instant
                     delivery costs. We expect ”new retail department stores” to have similar costs for distribution
                     centers and trucks as a percentage of sales versus traditional supermarkets’ 0.5%. The major
                     additional costs are instant delivery costs (i.e. 30 mins from stores) in addition to traditional
                     supermarkets’ self-pickup services. Based on 15 annual online orders per sqm and instant
                     delivery cost per order of Rmb8 (based on Meituan Dianping’s prospectus), total logistics costs
                     would be Rmb118 per sqm in Year 3.

                     A “new retail department store’s” operating profit margin could achieve break even
                     in Year 2 and reach 12.8% in Year 3. Based on above assumptions (increasing sales per
                     sqm, similar operating costs per sqm [of most cost components]), we estimate a “new retail
                     department store’s” operating profit margin (OPM) (before service fees to Internet companies)
                     to be -35.4% in Year 0, achieve break even in Year 2 and reach 12.8% in Year 3, which is a
                     6.0ppt improvement vs traditional department stores’ 7.3%, according to operating data of
                     listed department stores.
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Financial forecast of a Hema Supermarket mature store (i.e. in operation >1.5 years)

Annual amount per sqm (Rmb)        Year 0     Year 1     Year 2      Year 3               Assumptions
Sales                              2,038      5,249      11,117      16,373   (1) Annual number of orders per
                                                                              sqm x (2) Basket size = Annual sales
                                                                              per sqm, which will be 2x traditional
                                                                              department stores' in Year 3
Cost of goods sold (COGS)          -1,612     -4,152     -8,792     -12,949   We expect similar cost of goods sold
                                                                              as percentage of sales as traditional
                                                                              department stores (based on data of
                                                                              listed department stores in the top
                                                                              20 in China
Rental costs                        -172       -172       -172        -172    We expect similar rental costs per
                                                                              sqm as traditional department stores
                                                                              (based on listed department stores)
Staff costs                         -478       -479       -481        -483    We expect similar offline staff costs
                                                                              per sqm of Rmb408 as traditional
                                                                              department stores
                                                                              There is additional online staff
                                                                              costs per sqm incurred for customer
                                                                              services, with less live agents and
                                                                              more AI powered customer service
                                                                              chatbots (which are able to handle
                                                                              60% of total enquiries), using
                                                                              Alibaba’s application programming
                                                                              interface (API) of AI powered
                                                                              customer service chatbots, rather
                                                                              than doing it from scratch
Other operating costs               -478       -478       -478        -478    We expect similar other operating
                                                                              costs per sqm as traditional
                                                                              department stores (based on listed
                                                                              department stores in the top 20 in
                                                                              China)
Logistics expenses                  -19        -55        -127        -200    We expect ”new retail department
                                                                              stores” to have similar costs for
                                                                              distribution centers and trucks as a
                                                                              percentage of sales versus traditional
                                                                              department stores' 0.5%
                                                                              The major additional costs are instant
                                                                              delivery costs ( = [1][ii] Annual online
                                                                              order number per sqm x Instant
                                                                              delivery cost per order of Rmb8
                                                                              [according to Meituan Dianping])
Operating profit                    -722       -87        1,067      2,091

Operating profit margin (OPM)     -35.4%      -1.7%       9.6%       12.8%    OPM is 2x traditional department
                                                                              stores’ in Year 3
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Financial forecast of a Hema Supermarket mature store (i.e. in operation >1.5 years) cont.
Annual amount per sqm (Rmb)           Year 0   Year 1     Year 2     Year 3                        Assumptions
Breakdown
(1) New retailers - number of           6        16         34          49         (1) = (i) + (ii)
orders
(i) New retailers - number of           5        13         25          34         (i) = (a) x (b)
offline orders
(a) Traditional retailers - number      21       21         21          21         According to China Chain Store
of offline orders                                                                  Almanac 2016, China Chain Store &
                                                                                   Franchise Association
(b) New retailers' offline orders     24.4%    61.1%     122.2%      167.0%        We expect annual number of offline
/ traditional retailers' offline                                                   orders per sqm to ramp up from
orders                                                                             24% of traditional retailers' in Year
                                                                                   0 to 167% of traditional retailers' in
                                                                                   Year 3 (based on Hema Supermarket
                                                                                   chain’s performance)
(ii) New retailers - number of          1        4          9           15         (ii) = (1) x (a)
online orders
(a) Online penetration                18.5%    22.3%      26.2%      30.0%         We expect online orders as a
                                                                                   percentage of total orders to ramp
                                                                                   up from 19% (average online
                                                                                   penetration) in Year 0 to 30%
                                                                                   (which is the level enjoyed by
                                                                                   product categories with high online
                                                                                   penetration) in Year 3
(2) Basket size (Rmb)                  330      324        326         333         (2) = Weighted average of (i) and (ii)
(i) Offline basket size (Rmb)          377      377        377         377
(a) Traditional retailers - offline    377      377        377         377         According to China Chain Store
basket size                                                                        Almanac 2016, China Chain Store &
                                                                                   Franchise Association
(b) New retailers' offline basket     100.0%   100.0%    100.0%      100.0%        We expect similar offline basket size
size / offline basket size                                                         as traditional retailers'
(ii) Online basket size (Rmb)          125      142        184         232         (ii) = (i) x (a)

(a) Online basket size / Offline      33.2%    37.6%      48.9%      61.7%         We expect online basket size to
basket size                                                                        ramp up from 33% of offline
                                                                                   basket size in Year 0 to 62% of
                                                                                   offline basket size in Year 3 (based
                                                                                   on Hema Supermarket chain’s
                                                                                   performance)

                                                                    Source: Company, China Chain Store & Franchise Association, DBS HK
DBS Asian Insights
                                                                                        SECTOR BRIEFING 72
                                                                                                                   33

Comparing OPM of traditional department stores and “new retail department stores” (2017)
            Traditional department stores                             A “new retail department store”
     (Wangfujing, Dashang, Wushang, Silver Plaza,
                      Wenfeng)
               Annual    % of sales Assumptions                       Annual     % of sales Assumptions
               amount                                                 amount
               per sqm                                                per sqm
                (Rmb)                                                  (Rmb)
Sales           7,752     100.0%   Based on            Sales         16,373     100.0%      Based on financial
(Rmb m)                            operating data of   (Rmb m)                              forecast of a
                                   listed department                                        newly setup "new
                                   stores in the                                            department store" in
                                   top 20 in China                                          Year 3
                                   (Wangfujing,
                                   Dashang,
                                   Wushang, Silver
                                   Plaza, Wenfeng)
Cost of        -6,127     -79.0%   Based on            Cost of       -12,949    -79.1%      We expect similar cost
goods sold                         operating data of   goods sold                           of goods sold as a
(COGS)                             listed department   (COGS)                               percentage of sales as
                                   stores in the top                                        traditional department
                                   20 in China                                              stores
Rental costs    -172       -4.7%   Based on            Rental costs -172        -1.1%       We expect similar
                                   operating data of                                        rental costs per sqm as
                                   listed department                                        traditional department
                                   stores in the top                                        stores
                                   20 in China
Staff costs     -408       -5.0%   Based on            Staff costs   -483       -2.9%       We expect similar
                                   operating data of                                        offline staff costs per
                                   listed department                                        sqm of Rmb408 as
                                   stores in the top                                        traditional department
                                   20 in China                                              stores
                                                                                            There is additional
                                                                                            online staff costs per
                                                                                            sqm of Rmb148 for
                                                                                            customer services,
                                                                                            with less live agents
                                                                                            and more AI powered
                                                                                            customer service
                                                                                            chatbots, using
                                                                                            Alibaba’s application
                                                                                            programming interface
                                                                                            (API) of AI powered
                                                                                            customer service
                                                                                            chatbots, rather than
                                                                                            doing it from scratch
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