(Yicai Global) Jan. 4 -- Hema Fresh had its first profit last year after boosting operational efficiency and improving products, according to the chief executive of Alibaba Group Holding's supermarket chain.

Sales jumped more than 25 percent in 2022, with those of Hema X members-only outlets soaring nearly 250 percent, Hou Yi said in a recent letter to staff, China Securities Journal reported. Sales of Hema Outlet and Hema Neighborhood skyrocketed about 555 percent.

Shanghai-based Hema will continue to make good products, increase its app's functionality, and improve access to the company's online businesses, Hou noted. It will also strive to grow Hema Cloud, deliver products directly from the place of origin, and improve cross-border e-commerce, he added.

The grocery e-retailer will continue to explore the online and wholesale business and launch its branded goods with strong market competitiveness on other e-commerce platforms, so that its suppliers can become another development channel, Hou pointed out.

Founded in 2015, Hema is the main part of Alibaba's new retail business. Between 2016 and 2018, it explored the new retail sector, opening 200 stores nationwide, while the years of 2019 to 2021 saw the firm optimize its business model, Hou said. It has 300 stores in 27 cities across China.

In the decade beginning this year, Hema will serve one billion consumers, achieve sales of CNY1 trillion (USD140 billion), and set up 1,000 villages to grow agricultural produce, Hou said last October. The core capability of Hema should be planned in the context of China's economic development and from a global perspective, he noted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev