Jenny Lou's: A 'green thumb' for growth

Humble beginnings

The story behind Jenny Lou's is a remarkable tale of how a mom-and-pop store turned to a supermarket star over the past two decades.

Before Lu Xudong and Wang Jianping, founders of Jenny Lou's, opened the first store in 1993, the couple sold fruits and vegetables from a market stall at the Sanlitun neighborhood in Beijing for over four years.

Adjacent to embassy districts, Sanlitun is a gathering place for foreigners. At that time, overcharging was common among storekeepers as foreigners took up a large part of customer base — but the couple was an exception.

They believed, and still do, that honesty is a basic principle in doing business, and attribute the success of Jenny Lou's to catering to customers' needs and an attention to detail. "The customers are our bread and butter. They will treat you the way you treat them," Lu said.