Freshippo, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s offline grocery business, is pulling the plug on its warehouse-style, premium X Member stores, marking a full retreat from its ambitious bid to emulate the success of American retail giants Costco and Sam’s Club.
The last remaining X Member store, located in Shanghai’s Pudong district, will close on Aug. 31, according to a store notice. The move concludes a four-year experiment aimed at building a membership-based, bulk-buying format in China — a market that has proved difficult for domestic entrants despite increasing consumer interest in value-driven retail.
