Currently, Hema operates nearly 500 Hema Fresh stores and 400 Super Hema NB stores nationwide.
"Shopping carts are in short supply." Whenever Hema enters a new city, its "first store" invariably sparks a wave of excitement. Just before New Year's Day, in Quzhou, Zhejiang, as the first Hema Fresh store opened its doors, the 3,600-square-meter location was packed with customers early in the morning, even causing traffic congestion in nearby areas, with freshly grilled beef skewers, Hema Bakery items, and cherries becoming hot-selling products.
This has become the norm for Hema Fresh in 2025 as it entered 40 new cities. Behind the bustling scenes, Hema CEO Yan Xiaolei revealed in a recent New Year's letter to all employees that in 2025, Hema Fresh expanded into 40 new cities, opened over 200 new Super Hema NB stores, driving Hema's overall revenue growth to exceed 40% year-on-year. The dual-format operations of Hema Fresh and Super Hema NB now serve over 100 million consumers. Hema has successfully translated the "massive crowds" at new store openings into tangible numerical growth.
Against the backdrop of overall pressure in the retail industry, Hema is accelerating its national layout, finding new demands and opportunities amidst the challenges of the retail market, racing towards a 100-billion-yuan target. In the winter of new retail, Hema's attempts to "navigate through cycles" remain one of the most noteworthy new narratives.
The number of "Hema-zone properties" is steadily increasing. Throughout 2025, Hema's store expansion proceeded in an orderly manner. Beyond the store opening figures, Hema has established a new "dual-wheel drive" strategy with Hema Fresh and Super Hema NB - the former replicating successful models, the latter refining optimal models - implementing a structured expansion primarily based on these two formats in 2025. Currently, Hema operates nearly 500 Hema Fresh stores and 400 Super Hema NB stores nationwide.
From a financial perspective, this orderly expansion earned Hema a "better living" in 2025. Alibaba's previously released 2025 fiscal year report shows that Hema's overall GMV exceeded 75 billion yuan, achieving positive adjusted EBITA for the full year for the first time. Based on this estimate, by the end of March 2026, Hema's GMV for the 2026 fiscal year is expected to surpass 100 billion yuan, realizing the previously set 100-billion-yuan target.
Behind Hema's success lies a noteworthy question: What changes have occurred in China's retail market? And what opportunities has this brought to the industry?
It's important to note that Hema's expansion is not a one-way output but rather a mutual convergence with urban consumption upgrades. As "Hema-zone properties" continuously penetrate full-line markets, the growing demand for high-quality consumption in emerging cities has become a major trend in recent years, creating new "gold-mining" opportunities for new retail players like Hema that possess strong product capabilities and efficient supply chains.
Public data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that from January to November 2025, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 4% year-on-year, a growth rate faster than both the same period last year and the full previous year. Against this macroeconomic backdrop, internal market structures are also changing. High-quality consumption power is no longer exclusive to first-tier cities but is rapidly permeating down through city tiers, forming entirely new growth poles.
Previously, the 2024 ranking released by the "New First-Tier City Charm Ranking" by Yicai · New First-Tier City Research Institute indicated that market下沉 in culture and lifestyle sectors is reaching a peak period, with second- and third-tier cities and even lower-tier cities showing high enthusiasm for hosting various cultural, entertainment, and sports activities, such as concerts, music festivals, and city marathons. Whether in entertainment or daily consumption, the potential for self-indulgence and quality lifestyle consumption in lower-tier cities is continuously growing, awaiting the arrival of more premium brands.
On platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin, discussions among consumers about Hema's "internet-famous" products such as strawberry cakes, pomegranate cloud mist green tea, red-fleshed apple juice, and salmon platters are abundant. In discussions about "Hema must-buy lists," there's strong demand for delicious, high-quality, and innovative products, with many consumers from third- and fourth-tier cities frequently participating in discussions about "viral products" and new consumption trends.
After ten years of development, Hema has established a complete and stable presence in first-tier cities. In recent years, while continuing to strengthen coverage in first-tier cities, Hema has also taken the lead in entering emerging markets, actively adapting to local habits, which has earned it opportunities. In Zhongshan, Guangdong, Hema Fresh sold 105 king crabs on its opening day; in Dongying, Shandong, the bakery section of the first store achieved single-day sales exceeding 400,000 yuan.
Behind this lies the reality that more urban consumers are "voting" with their wallets for their aspirations for a better life, while also showing new retail players a more imaginative future for growth. How to extend supply chain and service capabilities has become a new race.
What has Hema done right? How to capture consumer demand for better products and shopping experiences? As we step into 2026, the new retail industry must further answer this question.
From Hema's current choices, Hema Fresh is targeting city-level consumption upgrades, offering high-quality fresh produce and global gourmet foods. Simultaneously, Super Hema NB focuses on daily community needs, emphasizing affordability and convenience, with some stores testing franchise models to achieve more flexible market penetration. These two formats complement each other, satisfying consumers' demands for both quality living and value-for-money consumption.
However, this represents a "daring leap." Behind orderly expansion, companies need to continuously deepen their supply chains, maintain product innovation and sustained appeal, and constantly improve delivery, in-store services, membership systems, and even after-sales capabilities - presenting a comprehensive test.
Behind Hema's impressive 2025 report card lies, on one hand, the extensive experience gained from its successful decade-long layout in first-tier cities, equipping Hema with the capability to adapt to full-line markets in terms of store operations and expansion experience. On the other hand, with the enhancement of Hema's infrastructure capabilities and even collaborations like Hema with Taobao Quick Deals, Hema's "30-minute delivery" capability continues to upgrade, becoming an industry standard and reshaping both online and offline consumer experiences.
Supply chain capability serves as the solid foundation for Hema's national expansion. It is understood that Hema has established a digital network comprising 8 supply chain centers and over 300 direct procurement bases. This is the core enabling Xinjiang honeydew melons and Norwegian salmon to "arrive the same day" at stores nationwide, and allows Hema's private labels like "Fresh Daily" and "Emperor Fresh" to build brand recognition even in cities where Hema hasn't yet entered.
Hema is also driving new retail product development into longer operational chains beyond just "sales volume." Reportedly, Hema has newly established 50 rapid-inspection laboratories in major warehouses nationwide, building quality and safety defenses. Furthermore, 80% of Hema's new product development currently focuses on core user needs.
The head of Hema Bakery stated in an interview that currently, Hema has numerous products achieving monthly sales in the tens of millions, so many that sales volume is no longer the primary internal focus. Internally, the focus is on user penetration and repurchase rates - penetration represents the product's market coverage, indicating breadth, while repurchase represents user satisfaction, indicating depth.
This is the new story Hema brings to China's new retail. In the current era of structural changes in the consumer market, corporate growth can no longer rely solely on scale expansion of a single format. Whether in scale expansion or product and supply chain capabilities, greater depth and breadth are required to meet the new demands for quality consumption and instant consumption under consumer stratification, continuously testing the fundamental capabilities of enterprises.
As a pioneer in China's new retail sector, Hema, racing towards a 100-billion-yuan GMV, has clearly regained its path of rapid growth. Amidst the chimes of the New Year, with the validation of the "dual-wheel drive" strategy over the past year, Hema will also accelerate its race into more new markets. How to seize more growth opportunities amidst the transformation of the retail market will continue to test Hema, but the window for navigating through cycles may be opening, with focusing on core consumer needs being the necessary starting point for all growth stories.
