24-Hour Convenience
Twenty years ago, convenience stores were a newly sprouted phenomenon in China. Baishi Bianli, a Hong Kong invested brand, opened the first Western-style convenience store in Shanghai in 1993 with great fanfare.
A Shanghai-based newspaper reported, “Snacks are displayed on an array of shelves, along with daily necessities from soups to nuts. There is a table with a microwave oven and coffee machine where white collar workers can enjoy hot fast food. The cashier area is also a magic place where medicines and cigarettes
