On October 29, Bestore Co., Ltd. released its Q3 2025 financial report, showing revenue of approximately 4.14 billion yuan for the first three quarters, a year-on-year decline of 24.45%, and a net loss of 122 million yuan, compared to a profit of 19.39 million yuan in the same period last year.
Among the 11 listed leisure snack companies in the A-share market, Bestore’s revenue and net profit declines far exceeded the median. Since Q2 2024, the company has seen six consecutive quarters of revenue contraction and losses.
Bestore is now caught in a vicious cycle of "channel shrinkage + price decline," and the termination of its controlling shareholder’s stake transfer has added further uncertainty.
**Deepening Losses** Amid persistent performance declines, Bestore’s gross margin has continued to drop—from nearly 29% in Q3 2023 to 24.96% in Q3 2025. Meanwhile, its sales expense ratio reached 24.27%, with total expenses hitting 28.71%. Squeezed by shrinking margins, high operating costs, and reduced non-recurring gains, the company is sinking deeper into losses.
Bestore, which brands itself as a "premium snack" provider, adopted a high-end strategy as early as 2018 and went public in 2020 as the "first premium snack stock." It built its premium image through product placements, TV sponsorships, and upscale store experiences while expanding its retail network.
However, amid weak consumer demand and fierce competition, both its "premiumization" and "channel expansion" strategies have stalled.
Since November 2023, Bestore initiated large-scale price cuts and began closing franchised stores, directly leading to sales contraction and margin erosion. Management attributed H1 2025 losses to proactive price reductions and shutting underperforming stores.
**Channel Struggles** Bestore maintains a balanced online-offline presence, with e-commerce contributing 41% of revenue last year, followed by franchised (26%) and self-operated stores (24%), plus 8% from bulk sales.
However, its e-commerce revenue has been shrinking since 2022, down nearly 40% from 2021 levels by 2024. Store count also fell by 259 in H1 2025 to 2,445—a 24% drop from its 2022 peak of 3,226.
Notably, gross margin erosion persists, sliding another 1.88 percentage points YoY to 24.96% in the first three quarters. Clearly, reversing this "channel shrinkage + price decline" feedback loop is management’s top priority.
**Mounting Financial Pressure** As performance deteriorates, financial strain is emerging. Accounts receivable rose 6% to 281 million yuan, while inventory held steady at 394 million yuan. Meanwhile, cash flow weakened sharply, with cash reserves shrinking to 408 million yuan against 240 million yuan in short-term debt, significantly worsening its liquidity ratio.
**Uncertain Future After Failed Control Transfer** Bestore’s market cap, once exceeding 30 billion yuan post-IPO, has collapsed to around 5 billion yuan after years of declines.
Pre-IPO investors, including Hillhouse Capital’s entities (which fully exited by 2023) and Today Capital’s SUMDEX LIMITED (cutting stakes from 30.3% to 18.16%), have been offloading shares.
Controlling shareholder Ningbo Hanyi Venture Capital Partnership has also been reducing and pledging shares. As of August 2025, it held 35.23% of Bestore, with 53.72% of its stake pledged.
Amid the stock slump, Ningbo Hanyi’s pledge risks surfaced, prompting repeated margin calls since 2023.
In May 2025, Ningbo Hanyi and its affiliates agreed to sell a 19.89% stake to Guangzhou Light Industry Trading Group at 12.42 yuan/share. However, Guangzhou Light later sued over the deal, freezing the shares.
On July 17, Bestore announced a new agreement with Wuhan Changjiang International Trade Group for a 21% stake transfer, which would shift control to Changjiang. But by October 17, the deal was terminated due to unmet conditions.
The failed transfer, coupled with legal freezes and high pledge ratios, leaves Bestore’s ownership unstable. Strategic reinvention is urgent, but resolving control uncertainty may come first.
**Industry Lagging** Under pressure from discount snack chains and weak demand, Bestore has fallen behind. Competitors like Yanjin Shop, Laiyifen, and Three Squirrels posted revenue growth in Q1-Q3 2025, while Bestore ranked last in both sales and profit growth.
With the control transfer collapsed, how will Bestore stage a turnaround?
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