Juzhi Life, a home life store backed by Alibaba Group, debuts in Yinzhou district, Ningbo on June 21. [Photo/cnr.cn] 

Juzhi Life, a home life store backed by Alibaba Group, debuted in Yinzhou district, Ningbo on June 21, according to local media reports. 

This is the first new manufacturing project established in Ningbo after the city signed a comprehensive cooperation framework agreement with Alibaba last month.

Yang Shuhang, general manager of Ningbo Juzhi Life Co Ltd, said that the store is based on the new consumer-to-manufacturer, or C2M, model, a new type of industrial internet e-commerce model. C2M leverages the big data and customer analysis capabilities of online retailers to optimize a company's products for specific market demands. 

Located in Yinzhou district, the store covers an area of nearly 4,000 square meters and offers customized household space design services. 

Unlike traditional stores, customer demands collected by the offline store and apps operated by Alibaba will be sent directly to factories. Under normal circumstances, it takes just half a month for a customer to receive a customized piece of furniture after placing an order.

Zhu Liangbo, president of Ningbo Aizhiwo Technologies Co Ltd, said the C2M model allows the company to swiftly adjust production and better adapt to market demands.

"In the past, the factory sold what they produced, but now it will be informed immediately of consumer demands, so it can be said that consumers themselves are directing our production." 

The furniture manufacturer, a "super factory" behind Juzhi Life, completed its intelligent transformation in 2017.