After two years of implementing 'Pangdonglai-style reforms,' Yonghui Superstores Co.,Ltd. has yet to escape its operational difficulties.
Recently, a topic about Yonghui Superstores seeking over 3.6 billion yuan in debt from parties including Wang Jianlin became a trending search. This matter stems from a transaction over two years ago, when Yonghui sold its stake in Wanda Commercial Management to raise funds, but the full payment has not been recovered, forcing the company to initiate arbitration. Legal experts suggest this debt is crucial for Yonghui, which has suffered consecutive annual losses and urgently needs capital to alleviate pressure. However, actual recovery may face challenges due to the counterparty's liquidity issues, making the outcome uncertain.
In fact, Yonghui has incurred losses for two consecutive years since launching its reform initiative. The 2025 financial report shows Yonghui closed 381 stores within a year, with its workforce significantly reduced by 29,000 employees. Furthermore, there has been a dramatic shift in executive compensation. The chairman's annual salary dropped from 604,300 yuan to 186,000 yuan, a decrease of 69%. Conversely, the new CEO's salary increased from 1.1608 million yuan to 2.1156 million yuan, a rise of 82%.
**Severe Cash Shortage? Pursuing Debt Recovery from Wang Jianlin Unsuccessful**
Yonghui recently announced that it received a "Case Acceptance Notice" from the court. The arbitral award issued by the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission in the case involving Yonghui, Dalian Yujin Trading Co., Ltd. (Dalian Yujin), Wang Jianlin, Sun Xishuang, and Dalian Yifang Group Co., Ltd. (Yifang Group) has taken legal effect.
Following the company's application for enforcement, the court issued the notice, deciding to register the case for enforcement. The amount involved is the remaining share transfer payment of 3.639 billion yuan, along with related penalty fees, legal costs, arbitration fees, and other expenses. The announcement stated that the amount recoverable from this case enforcement is uncertain, and its impact on the company's current or future profits cannot be determined for now. The company will conduct corresponding accounting treatments based on the subsequent progress and outcome of the case, in accordance with relevant accounting standards and the actual situation. The impact on profit or loss will be subject to the results confirmed by the annual audit.
This event originated in December 2023 when Yonghui sold its 389 million shares in Wanda Commercial Management to Dalian Yujin for 4.53 billion yuan to revitalize company assets, with payment agreed in eight installments. Starting March 2024, Dalian Yujin repeatedly delayed payments, only settling partial amounts. In July 2024, the parties signed a supplementary agreement, rescheduling the remaining 3.839 billion yuan in installments, with Wang Jianlin, Sun Xishuang, and Dalian Yifang Group providing joint guarantees. However, on September 30, 2024, the fourth installment of 300 million yuan was defaulted on again, prompting Yonghui to initiate arbitration.
Business registration information shows Dalian Yujin Trading Co., Ltd. was established in November 2023 with a registered capital of only 500,000 yuan and zero social insurance contributors. The equity structure indicates the company is 100% owned by Dalian Yifang Group. On May 20, this company and its controlling shareholder, Dalian Yifang Group, were listed as persons subject to enforcement, with an enforcement target of 3.879 billion yuan.
Legal analysis indicates that Yonghui's pursuit of this final payment has lasted nearly two years, with the ultimate outcome depending on legal judgment and enforcement. If the court supports Yonghui's claim, Dalian Yujin and the guarantors would be required to pay the debt, but actual enforcement may encounter liquidity problems on their side. This 3.639 billion yuan is crucial for Yonghui, as the company has suffered consecutive annual losses. These funds could alleviate cash flow pressure, used for debt repayment or business transformation.
**Workforce Reduced by Nearly 30,000, CEO Salary Increases 80%**
It is widely known that since May 2024, Yonghui Superstores began publicly learning from the Pangdonglai business model, formally embarking on the 'Pangdonglai-style reform path' that year.
However, this shift in business model did not rescue Yonghui in the short term and even led to expanding annual losses.
The data from the two years is striking. In 2024, Yonghui's revenue was 67.574 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 14.07%; net loss was 1.465 billion yuan, a year-on-year expansion of 10.26%.
In 2025, Yonghui achieved operating revenue of 53.508 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 20.82%; net loss was 2.552 billion yuan, expanding by 1.087 billion yuan compared to 2024.
Regarding the 2025 revenue decline, Yonghui explained it was mainly due to fierce competition in the retail industry and the company's proactive, significant store optimization alongside strategic and operational model transformation. Concurrently with the adjustments, the closure of 381 underperforming stores led to an overall revenue decline for 2025.
Regarding the expanded loss, Yonghui stated in its announcement that the impact of store adjustments on profits mainly included asset scrapping losses related to adjustments, revenue loss from business suspension for renovation, one-time start-up costs, etc. Among these, asset scrapping and one-time investments totaled approximately 880 million yuan. Additionally, estimated gross profit loss from stores suspending operations for renovation was about 300 million yuan. Meanwhile, closing 381 stores also incurred significant losses, mainly including asset scrapping losses, employee optimization severance compensation, and lease-related breach penalties.
Amid consecutive annual losses, Yonghui also significantly reduced its workforce. Data shows the number of in-service employees in 2024 was 79,224, which shrank to 49,427 in 2025, a substantial reduction of 29,797 employees. The reduction primarily involved sales staff, decreasing from 74,346 to 47,458, a cut of 26,888. Additionally, production personnel, technical staff, financial personnel, and administrative staff saw reductions of varying scales.
Furthermore, interesting changes occurred in executive compensation. Chairman Zhang Xuansong's pre-tax remuneration was 604,300 yuan in 2024, decreasing to 186,000 yuan in 2025, a drop of 69%. After Wang Shoucheng was promoted from Vice President to CEO, his pre-tax remuneration increased from 1.1608 million yuan to 2.1156 million yuan, a rise of 82%.
Information shows Zhang Xuansong is the Chairman and legal representative of Yonghui. Wang Shoucheng joined Yonghui in 2017 as a 'Rongcai' management trainee, holding positions including store manager, cluster operation partner, Human Resources Director for the Fujian-Jiangxi region, CEO business assistant, head of the Preparation Department and Customer Service & Operations Department, and Vice President. He was promoted to CEO in September 2025 and also serves as the head of Yonghui's nationwide adjustment and reform group.
Wang Shoucheng's rise is linked to support from Ye Guofu, founder of Miniso. In September 2024, Ye Guofu, through Miniso, invested approximately 6.27 billion yuan to acquire a 29.4% stake in Yonghui, becoming its largest shareholder. Subsequently, Ye Guofu established a reform leadership group within Yonghui, serving as its head to promote learning from Pangdonglai. Wang Shoucheng was one of the members of this reform leadership group.
An industry insider believes that Yonghui's continued losses after learning from Pangdonglai stem from several issues. First, the adjustment costs are high, including investments in store renovations and employee training. Second, the effects of the adjustments have not yet fully materialized, with limited customer acceptance of price and product structure changes. Third, overall retail industry competition is fierce, with Yonghui facing pressure from e-commerce and community group buying. The 'Pangdonglai-style reform' may improve service and experience in some stores but is unlikely to fundamentally reverse Yonghui's predicament, as it requires more systematic supply chain optimization and cost control rather than mere imitation. Long-term, Yonghui needs differentiated adjustments combining its own characteristics; otherwise, the reform may only provide short-term relief.
Additionally, Yonghui's consumer reputation is deteriorating. In its 2025 financial report, Yonghui emphasized that overall quality, food safety, and compliance management indicators steadily improved in 2025, with key risks effectively controlled. However, on consumer complaint platforms, its cumulative complaints currently number 8,335, involving issues like foreign objects in food, mold, and expired products. "Problems keep recurring, which is truly disheartening," one consumer complained.
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