A recent incident involving an AUNTEA JENNY store in Guiyang sending inappropriate messages to consumers has sparked public debate and raised questions about the effective management of its franchise network. The company stated that the account was suspected to have been hacked from a different location and that a police report had been filed.
Concurrently, AUNTEA JENNY released its first annual report since going public. The financial results for 2025 showed revenue reaching 4.466 billion yuan, a 36% year-on-year increase. Gross profit was 1.404 billion yuan, up 36.7% year-on-year, with a gross margin of 31.4%, showing little fluctuation from the previous year.
However, the most striking aspect of the report was executive compensation. Zhou Tianmu, the Executive Vice President, received a salary increase of 9.38 million yuan, bringing his total annual remuneration to 25.732 million yuan. He became the only director with compensation exceeding 10 million yuan. This figure is over 49 times the combined salary of the company's controlling shareholders, co-founders, Chairman, Executive Director, and CEO Shan Weijun and his wife, Executive Director and Deputy CEO Zhou Rongrong, who each earned 523,000 yuan.
**Closure of 1,383 Stores in 2025, a 40% Increase** Similar to its competitor Mixue Ice City, AUNTEA JENNY's primary revenue comes from selling goods to franchisees. The growth in store count is a major driver of its revenue increase.
In 2025, AUNTEA JENNY's store network expanded by nearly a quarter. The annual report indicates that as of December 31, 2025, the network comprised 11,449 stores, a 24.8% increase from 9,176 stores at the end of 2024. This includes 26 directly operated stores and 11,423 franchise stores. Additionally, the company opened 45 overseas stores in 2025, covering the United States, South Korea, and Malaysia.
Amid this rapid expansion, sales of goods to franchisees generated 3.616 billion yuan in 2025, accounting for 81% of total revenue and representing a 37.4% year-on-year increase. Franchise service revenue reached 690 million yuan, constituting 15.5% of total revenue and marking a 28.5% increase from the previous year.
The company stated it accelerated its store expansion strategy in 2025, with a significant increase in new franchise store openings compared to 2024, particularly in the second half of the year.
However, the number of store closures also rose significantly. In 2025, AUNTEA JENNY closed 1,383 franchise stores, a 40.12% increase from the 987 closures in 2024.
The annual report cited two main reasons for the closures. Firstly, some franchisees were unable to operate stores profitably or faced lease expirations without viable relocation options. Secondly, the company proactively optimized its store network to enhance consumer experience and operational quality, leading to the orderly exit of some franchise locations.
An industry insider revealed details about AUNTEA JENNY's franchise model. Franchise fees are 80,000 yuan, 70,000 yuan, and 60,000 yuan for tier-1, tier-2, and tier-3 cities respectively, which are slightly cheaper than Mixue Ice City's fees. However, there are stringent requirements: potential franchisees must verify assets of 300,000 yuan before negotiations, undergo strict reviews, commit to being present in-store full-time, share costs for new product development, and are required to adopt the company's coffee line brand, Huka. This includes purchasing a coffee machine valued at 30,000 yuan, with non-compliance potentially leading to supply cuts. Furthermore, the franchise agreement includes a non-compete clause stipulating a 500,000 yuan penalty for operating a competing brand's store within three years.
The insider also noted fierce competition in the beverage sector, with the average monthly revenue per AUNTEA JENNY store in Shanghai reportedly falling below 100,000 yuan in 2025.
Franchisees feel the direct impact. A franchisee in Guangdong reported that the number of beverage brands in their commercial area increased rapidly starting in the second half of 2024, leading to intense competitive pressure, with brands like Bawang Chaji and Heytea even operating 24 hours. An Anhui-based franchisee expressed concerns about the company aggressively opening new stores without limits, squeezing out existing franchisees while new ones enter the market unaware of the challenges. Another franchisee mentioned facing difficulties in renewing their contract despite no violations, citing only failure to meet purchase quotas.
AUNTEA JENNY has also faced regulatory issues. In March 2025, a store in Wuhan was investigated after reports surfaced of staff altering expiration labels on ingredients, specifically using expired grapefruit pieces to make drinks and then replacing the labels.
**Who is the 25.73 Million Yuan Vice President?** The 2025 annual report shows that the total remuneration for AUNTEA JENNY's directors, supervisors, and senior management was 36.46 million yuan, an increase of over 10 million yuan from 25.845 million yuan in 2024. Executive Vice President Zhou Tianmu received the largest raise. His compensation of 25.732 million yuan represents an increase of 9.38 million yuan from 16.352 million yuan the previous year.
Zhou Tianmu is the only director with compensation exceeding 10 million yuan, and his pay is over 25 million yuan more than that of the founders Shan Weijun and Zhou Rongrong, making it more than 49 times their individual salaries. Such a vast disparity in board member compensation is rare among listed companies.
Zhou Tianmu serves as an Executive Director and Deputy CEO at AUNTEA JENNY, responsible for assisting the Chairman in overall business strategy and operational management. He joined the company in May 2022 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed to his current role in November 2023.
His public resume shows an 8-year tenure at Procter & Gamble China, where he served as Marketing Director for the Grooming and Battery categories in Greater China. He then worked at Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd. for about nine months as China Business Strategy and Planning Director. Following that, he spent six years at Alibaba Group, holding positions including General Manager of the Koubei FMCG Retail Division and General Manager of the Alibaba Group Supermarket Ecosystem Division.
Currently, the revenue ranking within the new tea beverage sector is largely solidified. The leading player, Mixue Ice City, reportedly has a revenue gap exceeding eight times compared to tail-end brands like Nayuki Tea and AUNTEA JENNY.
In an effort to keep pace, AUNTEA JENNY was active in 2025. Its three brands—AUNTEA JENNY, Tea Waterfall, and Huka—launched 213 new products. For instance, the AUNTEA JENNY brand promoted a "Daily Health+" concept with series like kale vegetable-fruit tea and a five-color slow-nourishing bottle series. It also focused on upgrading coffee equipment and bean quality to establish coffee as a core promoted category. The Tea Waterfall brand emphasizes high-quality, affordable fresh milk tea made with original tea leaves.
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Liu Hui analyzed that Mixue Ice城 is a cost leadership enterprise, continuously expanding into lower-tier cities domestically, restructuring the market with low prices, and exploring overseas value. Bawang Chaji follows a new retail path with early overseas market布局. Gu Ming's fundamentals, store base, and store revenue are also unmatched by brands like AUNTEA JENNY. From this perspective, launching new products is merely a tactical move that does not alter AUNTEA JENNY's strategic competitive disadvantage; more strategic-level products and actions are needed.
He concluded, "The tea beverage industry has reached the endgame of the capital-driven era, completely different from five years ago. It may appear prosperous but is now a high-risk industry."
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