(Yicai Global) Jan. 22 -- Kaola, the cross-border e-commerce platform under Chinese tech giant NetEase, has opened a flagship store in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province.  

The 700-square-meter flagship store is located in the city's West Lake area, which is extremely popular with tourists. The Hangzhou-based platform aims to open 15 stores this year up from four at present.

Many customers queued up for hours before the store's opening, Jiemian News reported. Kaola has also launched opening-day promotions for customers. The shop aims to match prices in-store with those online, according to the store manager.

The company opened its first offline store last April in Hangzhou Tower as a testing ground for its offline strategy. Its second location in Zhengzhou, capital of east-central China's Henan province, enables customers to immediately receive their items that are stored in cross-border bonded warehouses on-site after completing customs procedures in-store.

The newest Hangzhou store offers the widest range of products and is expected to boast the largest footfall among all its stores, thanks to its premium location.

Editor: William Clegg