(Yicai Global) Sept. 26 -- Chinese fresh food supermarket brand Hema Fresh, which belongs to internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. [NYSE:BABA], aims to scale up its business by opening 10 new stores in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Guiyang on Sept. 28, business and financial publication Caijing Magazine reported on Sept. 26.

This will be the firm's first venture into markets in Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Guiyang.

Hema Fresh, founded in 2016, will cooperate with local retail enterprises in Hangzhou and Guiyang to provide data systems, technical support and daily management.

Most of the company's other stores adopt a self-service business model, with the company responsible for store structure, business flow and IT systems.

Hema Fresh has opened 13 stores in the country so far, with sales at its flagship Shanghai Jinqiao location reaching CNY250 million (USD37.79 million) in 2016, higher than the industry average. All of Hema's stores have been profitable so far, industry research reports state.

The firm plans to open even more stores before the end of the year, an employee disclosed.

The brand aims to provide technical support for local retailing enterprises in all of China's provinces in the long-run, and improve information collection and data operation capabilities.