HEMA FOUNDER HOU YI MOVES PET BUSINESS ONLINE

Recently, I shared how the pet store chain Pet & Fresh of Alibaba's Hema (Freshippo) founder Hou Yi was shutting down, within a year after opening its first store (see x.com/TechBuzzChina/sta…).

Some news has come out about his next steps.

Hou Yi, who 'went,poco' (pursuing other career opportunities) in March 2024, is moving the pet business online with a new brand: Chǒng tiāntiān (宠天天, which translates as 'Pet Everyday'). The company was established in October, and the brand has opened a Xiohongshu (Rednote) account. At the time of writing it had 3 posts and 164 followers.

Pet Everyday will focus on e-commerce and mini-programs 'under the Pet & Fresh umbrella', although there is also an offline store (which previously was a Pet & Fresh store).

Pet & Fresh was formed around the concept of a 'dog buffet' where pet owners could select ingredients and have them cooked on the spot.

In a live broadcast, Hou Yi frankly stated: "Today, the fresh pet food market is not a good market. The market size is too small, and it's an unsolvable problem. Countless large companies have entered the market before, and they all became precedents, including Pet & Fresh. They went to the United States and Japan to investigate, quickly opened stores, and were very popular when they first opened. However, when consumers actually choose pet food, they rarely choose from a large selection and rarely change their choices."

"My next venture will definitely be in the retail industry, which I understand, and the fresh food industry is what I'm best at. In the future, it will definitely be centred around product brands and have a very strong product system."

I'm sure this won't be the last we hear of Hou Yi and he continues to 'go poco'.

-Ed

Source: Lianshang