Fast Forward Times (Xiamen) Technology

Fast Forward Times (Xiamen) Technology Co., Ltd., operating under the brand "Kuaijin Shangdian" (快进商店), was established on July 7, 2021, and is headquartered in Xiamen, Fujian province. The company positions itself as a smart retail platform provider, focusing on the digital and unmanned transformation of traditional offline stores. This initiative is led by founder Wu Jiabao.

The company targets the vast market of independent, small to medium-sized convenience stores, often referred to as "mom-and-pop shops," which number over 5 million in China. Its business model addresses the core operational challenges for these store owners, such as long hours and high labor costs. Revenue is generated through a one-time hardware installation fee and a service fee, which is a percentage of the store's turnover during the unmanned operational hours.

The core offering is a comprehensive solution combining proprietary smart hardware with a retail SaaS platform. This technology suite includes smart access control, intelligent surveillance, and remote intercom systems, which enables stores to operate 24 hours a day through remote monitoring. After regular closing hours, stores can switch to a remote-managed mode, where a customer service team oversees operations. The system has evolved to incorporate AI capabilities, utilizing multi-modal large models to analyze visual and audio data from various sensors. This allows for automated responses to common customer inquiries and real-time alerts for situations like a customer forgetting to close a refrigerator door or smoking inside the store, enhancing both efficiency and security.

Since its inception, the company has secured several rounds of funding, including a multi-million RMB angel round from Xiaoyi Ventures, a tens-of-millions RMB Pre-A round from Challenger Ventures, and a multi-million dollar strategic financing from Nasdaq-listed company The9 Limited. These funds have been allocated towards product upgrades and market expansion. As a result, the company has expanded its footprint from 35 cities to over 130, upgrading more than 1,000 stores.

Keywords: smart retail, retail technology, SaaS, unmanned stores, convenience store automation, retail digitization, remote store management, AI in retail, Wu Jiabao, Kuaijin Shangdian, intelligent hardware, retail solutions, store upgrade, 24-hour retail, mom-and-pop shops, Challenger Ventures, The9 Limited, physical retail, retail innovation