Yonghui Supermarket to Close Over 250 Stores as Annual Losses Approach Nearly 10 Billion Yuan

Struggling with massive losses, Yonghui Supermarket, once known as the “top supermarket” in China, held its first extraordinary shareholders’ meeting of 2025 on the afternoon of March 17 to announce plans to cut 250 to 350 stores after years of declining performance.

Yonghui Supermarket, a leading player in the supermarket industry with 1,440 stores in 2019, has been facing losses since 2021. According to the performance forecast released by Yonghui Supermarket on the evening of January 14, 2024, the net profit for the year is expected to be a loss of 1.4 billion yuan. This marks the fourth consecutive year of losses for Yonghui Supermarket.

Based on Yonghui Supermarket’s financial reports, the net losses from 2021 to 2023 were 3.944 billion yuan, 2.763 billion yuan, and 1.329 billion yuan, respectively. Adding the projected loss of 1.4 billion yuan for 2024, the accumulated losses over the past four years have reached 9.436 billion yuan.

The continued losses have put significant pressure on Yonghui Supermarket’s cash flow. As of the third quarter of 2024, the monetary funds of Yonghui Supermarket were only 3.846 billion yuan, a sharp 43.30% decrease compared to the previous year.

According to Xinhua News, if the trend of continuous losses persists, Yonghui Supermarket’s cash reserves may only be able to support them for three more years. To alleviate financial stress, Yonghui Supermarket announced at the shareholders’ meeting on March 17 a plan to close 250 to 300 stores, ultimately aiming to maintain the total number of stores between 300 and 400.

The official website indicates that Yonghui Supermarket currently has 745 stores nationwide, meaning that nearly one-third of the stores will be shuttered.

Yonghui Supermarket is not alone in its struggles. Following the economic downturn after the epidemic, the retail industry in China has been cooling off. Traditional retail enterprises like Renrenle, Darunfa, and Carrefour are also facing declining performance and a wave of store closures.