JIUMAOJIU (09922.HK) recently disclosed its operational performance for the fourth quarter of 2025, revealing significant contractions in the scale of its core brands Tai Er, Song Hot Pot, and JIUMAOJIU. The company's performance recovery has yet to reach a definitive turning point, indicating the group remains in an intensive self-adjustment phase.
The contraction of Tai Er, the group's pillar brand, has been particularly pronounced. By the end of 2025, the company operated 499 Tai Er restaurants, comprising 477 self-operated and 22 franchised outlets. This represents a net decrease of 135 stores compared to the total of 634 at the end of 2024, resulting in a store closure rate exceeding 21%.
Behind the reduction in store count lies ongoing pressure on operational efficiency and sales. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the table turnover rate for self-operated Tai Er restaurants was 3.0 times per day, a further decline from 3.3 times per day in the third quarter. Average daily sales per same store fell by 3.0% year-on-year. Although this decline is a significant improvement from the 24.6% drop in the fourth quarter of 2024, the consecutive quarters of year-on-year decreases indicate the brand has not yet escaped its growth challenges.
In response to market shifts and performance pressures, Tai Er accelerated the upgrade of its store model throughout 2025. By year-end, the brand had rolled out 243 stores featuring the "Fresh" model, accounting for nearly half of its total outlets. Centered on three fresh signatures—"live fish, fresh chicken, and fresh beef"—this model reinforces the group's strategic focus on "fresh ingredients" and has received positive market feedback since its introduction.
Notably, among these 243 "Fresh" model stores are six newly upgraded "New Tai Er · Fresh Ingredient Sichuan Cuisine" outlets. By adding classic Sichuan dishes such as boiled fish and spicy chicken, these restaurants aim to break through the growth ceiling of the single pickled fish category and expand revenue boundaries.
Even so, Tai Er is showing the fastest recovery progress among JIUMAOJIU's three main brands. During the same period, the average daily sales per same store for the self-operated JIUMAOJIU brand and the Song Hot Pot brand saw year-on-year declines of 16.4% and 19% respectively, indicating weak momentum for a performance rebound.
Regarding the current state of these two brands, JIUMAOJIU attempted to project confidence, stating that "new model stores for Song Hot Pot and JIUMAOJIU were also successively launched in the fourth quarter of 2025 and have received positive market feedback. The company believes that with continuous refinement of the new store models, gradual validation of the model, and subsequent promotion, the same-store performance of the related brands is expected to improve progressively."
The scale of contraction for these two brands is equally severe. By the end of 2025, the number of operating Song Hot Pot restaurants had decreased to 62, a net reduction of 18 from the 80 outlets at the end of 2024, resulting in a closure rate as high as 22.5%. The JIUMAOJIU brand operated 63 restaurants (including 2 franchised), a decrease of 8 year-on-year, with a closure rate of 11.3%.
Beyond its three main brands, JIUMAOJIU is actively exploring diversified segments. The group currently also operates 17 "The Mountain Outside the Mountain" restaurants, primarily under a cooperative model; one restaurant each for "Lai Meili" and "Shang Xian Yue Mu"; and at the end of 2025, it launched a new brand, "Chao Na Bian · Chaoshan Fresh Roast Beef," with its first store opening in Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, with an average customer spend of about 125 yuan, formally testing the waters in the barbecue segment.
Facing intense competition in the domestic catering market, JIUMAOJIU is looking beyond optimizing existing brand models and exploring new segments by setting its sights on overseas markets. At the end of 2025, the group announced plans to acquire equity in the North American chain restaurant Big Way Hot Pot for $43 million; the latter operates 21 buffet-style hot pot restaurants. Having initially acquired a 10% stake in the brand back in July of the same year, JIUMAOJIU's stake is expected to increase to 49% upon completion of this acquisition and additional capital injection.
Historically, JIUMAOJIU's overseas foray has been limited to its Tai Er brand in Southeast Asia and North America, but it has already demonstrated potential. Data from the fourth quarter of 2025 shows that while the table turnover rate for self-operated Tai Er restaurants in mainland China was 2.9 times per day, it reached 3.7 times per day in other regions. Furthermore, the average customer spend in other regions was 153 yuan, more than double the 68 yuan in mainland China, highlighting significant advantages in operational efficiency and consumer spending power.
However, despite its potential, the overseas market presents high barriers. Compliance requirements across different countries, variations in consumer habits, along with challenges related to the stability and cost of overseas supply chains, pose significant expansion hurdles for JIUMAOJIU. For a company still navigating adjustments in its domestic operations, overseas expansion demands sustained investment and enhanced cross-regional operational capabilities, meaning the cultivation of new growth drivers will still require time.
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