Chinese venture capital firm IDG Capital has led a series A round in Guoxiaomei, a cashier-free convenience store operator that places snack bars in corporate offices. Financing details were not disclosed, but IDG has likely invested tens of millions of RMB in the start-up, including in an earlier pre-A round completed last month. “The theme of New Retail is one of the most important focuses of IDG,” said Lou Jun, chairman of IDG Capital, in a company announcement. “What Guoxiaomei offers is like placing a convenience shop right in an office, so goods are much closer to consumers.” Cashier-free convenience stores have attracted a number of investors recently. Players including Bianlifeng, Bingobox, F5 Store and Xiaomai raised nearly US$38.5 million in total last month. Internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. launched its own self-service store Tao Cafe in the same month. Unlike the above start-ups that place automated convenience stores in residential areas, Guoxiaomei puts snack shelves powered by mobile payment inside corporate offices. The machines offer items like chips, milk, eggs, dried fruits, cookies and instant noodles. The Chengdu-based start-up has already placed hundreds of these snack shelves in the Chengdu offices of Tencent, Alibaba, China Telecom and Focus …

The post IDG Leads Series A Round In Chinese Cashier-Free Convenience Store Operator Guoxiaomei appeared first on China Money Network.