They used to prowl the fabric-conditioner aisle. And they were, frankly, terrifying. But now, they are kind of out of a job, or a hobby, or something. For technology has stepped in to attempt instead to vend us of, believe it or not, sausages. In Nanjing’s dear-old Suguo.
The Nanjinger yesterday, 10 October, had just popped in for some cheese (it was pizza night), but, low and behold, was slightly taken aback with the robot and its three shelves of pre-packed mini sausages. We’ve had those guys deliver bottles of water to our hotel room before, but this one is a “travelling salesman”.
That term in China used to mean a man who walks around your community crying out for you to come and have your kitchen knives sharpened. Times have indeed changed.
This not-so-little fella (about 1.8-metres tall) is a product of the Shuanghui Group, now headquartered in Hong Kong, but native to Henan Province, that purchased Smithfield Foods in 2013. That was then the largest acquisition to date of an American company by a Chinese firm.
And is by now obvious, the Shuanghui Group, often referred to in English as the WH Group, is one of China’s more-innovative food producers. Even this very publication not-so-long ago awarded it the number 3 spot on its list of top whole-wheat, sliced-bread producers (it wasn’t a long list; that was the bottom position, but give them a break).
Adorned with a pair of Chinese flags for National Day, this is in fact one of those examples of AI actually being a good thing. The robot silently glides past, in stark contrast to its considerably-older human colleagues.
They became somewhat synonymous with Suguo a decade or more ago, for their decidedly-aggressive sales’ tactics. Fabric conditioner was their favourite, but they would also branch out to milk powder, for example. Woe betide those who did not make a purchase.
The reality now, however, is those seniors have been on the way out (well, let’s face it, they are now retired or worse) for quite some time. COVID also put an enormous dent in Suguo’s footfall, to the extent many larger branches now feel like they are mere warehouses for the not-so-many folk who have ordered their wares online.
Hence, the deployment of Shuanghui’s Robot makes sense on another level, to perhaps bring some more physical shoppers back into the store, if only to take photos of it, accompanied by the few-remaining, somewhat-senior and now-silent, frowning fabric-softener promoters in the background.
