ATRenew, a major player in the secondhand consumer electronics market, has long championed an asset-heavy offline strategy. However, after pushing aggressive expansion to its limits, the company is now facing a sharp and unexpected slowdown.
On the evening of March 11, ATRenew Group released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2025. The company reported Q4 total revenue of 6.25 billion yuan, a 29% year-over-year increase. Non-GAAP operating profit for the quarter was 180 million yuan, up 38.1% year-over-year. Non-GAAP net profit reached a record high of 140 million yuan, marking a 14% annual increase.
Since first achieving GAAP profitability in Q3 2024, ATRenew's financial metrics have shown gradual improvement. Quarterly revenues for 2025 were 4.65 billion yuan, 4.99 billion yuan, 5.15 billion yuan, and 6.25 billion yuan, respectively. Profits rose steadily from 40 million yuan in Q1 to 130 million yuan in Q4.
Despite this seemingly robust performance, data on store expansion reveals a sharp turn for the so-called "Recycling King." The company initially aimed to open 800 new stores in 2025, but the actual net increase was only 334 stores, achieving just 41% of the target. Furthermore, the expansion pace plummeted from adding over 200 stores per quarter to nearly zero growth in the latest quarter.
ATRenew's investor relations department responded, stating that ATRenew stores serve as both delivery points and brand assets, and their numbers must synergize with online traffic growth. The long-term goal of 5,000 stores remains, but the pace of new openings will be adjusted based on online traffic growth and brand strategy.
Key financial data for 2025 shows full-year revenue reached 21.05 billion yuan. For the full year, total revenue was 21.05 billion yuan, a 28.9% increase. Non-GAAP operating profit was 560 million yuan, up 35.5% year-over-year. The company also achieved its first full-year profit under GAAP standards, with annual operating profit and net profit of 460 million yuan and 340 million yuan, respectively.
ATRenew Group operates four main business lines: ATRenew (C2B), Paiji Tang (B2B), Pai Pai (B2C), and the overseas business AHS Device. Revenue is split between first-party (1P) product net revenue and third-party (3P) service net revenue, representing different business models. The 1P business is an self-operated model covering the entire chain of secondhand 3C product recycling, inspection, refurbishment, and resale. The 3P business, centered on Paiji Tang and Pai Pai, involves platform matching, authentication, commissions, and technical services.
In 2025, 1P self-operated business revenue was 193.8 billion yuan, accounting for 92.1% of total revenue and remaining the absolute pillar across all quarters. 3P service revenue was 1.67 billion yuan, up 12.4% year-over-year, but still only 7.9% of total revenue. This indicates that ATRenew remains heavily reliant on the self-operated sales model, with slow progress in platform transformation and a still-singular revenue structure.
In Q4, revenue from compliant refurbished products grew 90.8% year-over-year. Following a priority retail strategy, 1P-to-C product revenue increased 88%, with its proportion rising 12.7 percentage points to 41.7%. Consignment GMV on the Pai Pai platform grew 253% year-over-year, accounting for 24% of the platform's GMV. By the end of 2025, the B2B platform Paiji Tang had over 1.66 million registered users.
For the full year, transaction volume reached 41.7 million units, an 18.1% increase, with secondhand 3C electronics remaining the core category driving 1P business expansion. While consolidating its core secondhand 3C business, ATRenew has accelerated diversification into categories such as camera equipment, luggage, watches, gold, premium spirits, and footwear and apparel. In Q4, multi-category recycling GMV surged 125.7% year-over-year.
As of December 31, 2025, the company held cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments, and third-party payment platform balances totaling 2.19 billion yuan.
Looking back a year, ATRenew expressed strong optimism during its 2024 earnings release, announcing plans to accelerate offline expansion in 2025 by adding 800 new stores and hiring 1,000 additional door-to-door service staff. Founder Chen Xuefeng stated that the secondhand industry trend was positive and that the company should prepare for long-term growth by building brand and delivery capabilities, targeting 5,000 stores, 5,000 door-to-door recycling engineers, and 100,000 community recycling kiosks within three years.
However, reality fell short of these ambitions. ATRenew's offline stores primarily operate under the ATRenew brand. By the end of 2024, the company had 1,861 stores across 283 cities. After four quarters of expansion, the total reached 2,195 stores across 298 cities by the end of 2025.
Breaking down by quarter: Q1 2025 saw a net increase of 25 stores to 1,886; Q2 added 206 stores, reaching 2,092 stores in 291 cities; Q3 added 103 stores, reaching 2,195 stores. Notably, the year-end 2025 store count remained unchanged from Q3, indicating zero net new stores in Q4. Thus, the net increase for 2025 was only 334 stores, far below the 800-store target.
More critically, offline expansion has clearly decelerated, dropping from over 200 new stores per quarter to zero growth, signaling a near halt in expansion momentum.
ATRenew's investor relations department explained that in 2025, recognizing opportunities driven by national policies in the secondhand industry, the company decided to invest in offline fulfillment capabilities, focusing on both store openings and door-to-door team building. Moving forward, the strategy will emphasize standard stores focused on mobile phone and 3C recycling, increasing the proportion of high-value multi-category recycling services to boost per-store profit. In lower-tier cities, the company will expand through local franchisees and city partners to grow the secondhand business with a lighter model.
For 2026, the strategy will continue: enhancing store quality in high-tier cities and increasing store count in mid-to-low-tier cities, while flexibly adjusting door-to-door team size based on seasonal demand. The department reiterated that stores are crucial for delivery and branding, and their growth must align with online traffic. The long-term goal of 5,000 stores remains, but the pace will be adjusted according to online traffic and strategic needs.
Chen Jingjing, founder of a brand consulting firm, commented that the slowdown in ATRenew's store expansion reflects a shift in the circular economy sector from scale competition to efficiency competition. Lengthening device replacement cycles, increased consumer rationality, and price sensitivity are compressing demand elasticity for secondhand transactions, putting pressure on the per-store business model. In this context, expansion no longer solely creates value; cash flow and turnover efficiency are now key survival metrics. While financials have improved, ATRenew's pullback signifies a transition from capital-driven growth to operation-driven management.
Why did ATRenew have to hit the brakes? One reason may be that its previous "saturation"-style expansion strategy is now undermining its core competitiveness—user experience and brand reputation.
Offline stores, as ATRenew's most significant assets, are not just traffic channels but also trust endorsements. However, rapid expansion stretched management capabilities and lagging staff training led to inconsistent service quality. On a consumer complaint platform, nearly 25,000 complaints have been filed against ATRenew, posing a persistent threat to its brand image.
Common complaints include "lowball offers," "inconsistent inspection standards," "privacy leakage concerns," and "unauthorized disassembly after recycling." Many users report significant discrepancies between online preliminary quotes and final in-store prices. Some accuse store staff of exploiting information asymmetry by exaggerating device flaws to secure price differences.
Regarding privacy concerns and unauthorized disassembly, a staff member at a Beijing ATRenew store stated that the company does not disclose private information and typically does not disassemble devices. Consumers are advised to clear their data and restore factory settings before visiting the store, after which the store performs a secondary data wipe that makes recovery impossible.
Addressing complaints about lowball offers and exaggerated flaws, the staff member explained that online quotes are preliminary. Price differences often arise from onsite inspections revealing scratches, dents, or functional issues, which necessitate price reductions according to standardized criteria. Furthermore, staff commissions are higher when offering better prices, so lowballing is not beneficial. The company also has a reverse quality control mechanism; if staff are found unfairly reducing prices, they are penalized.
Chen Jingjing analyzed that the core issue is a mismatch between platform expansion speed and offline service capability. As a non-standardized, process-intensive service industry, standardized procedures and pricing transparency are crucial for customer perception in secondhand recycling. Accelerated expansion elongates management radius and increases process complexity, making consistent service difficult and leading to more complaints. This necessitates a strategic shift from expansion to operations: changing KPIs from scale to user NPS, complaint rates, and after-sales efficiency; transforming offline stores from mere transaction points into service hubs that enhance perceived value through inspection, warranty, and asset management services, thereby strengthening trust.
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