Yonghui opens its first full-health scenario renovation store in Guangzhou; Walmart launches its next-generation store concept in Chengdu in partnership with Poly Development; Hema returns to Fujian, directly competing with Popo and Yonghui; ALDI's first batch of Hangzhou stores is confirmed amid a lawsuit by Shiseido. Dingdong Maicai establishes a strategic committee for its private label; Pang Dong Lai's "four-year contract system" sparks widespread discussion. Private labels are evolving from cost-effective alternatives into brand assets, while the hard-discount sector accelerates differentiation.

1. This Week's Headline

1. Yonghui Guangzhou Beijing Road Store Opens, "Top 10 Healthy Scenarios" Fully Launched for the First Time

On 9 19, Yonghui's first fully renovated health-scenario store in Guangzhou opened at Tianhe City, showcasing all "Ten Health Scenarios" for the first time—including freshly baked goods, live seafood, a seafood kitchen, and a street food market—while focusing heavily on 3R products. Over 1000 private-label items have been launched, with private-label sales reaching 25.33 billion yuan in the first half of the year.

Notably, Jiemian reported this week that Yonghui's 31 billion RMB private placement plan intended to renovate 216 stores, but only 51 were actually renovated. The gap of 165 stores has raised questions about "excess financing."

💡 SuperCai Review

Yonghui's renovation has evolved from "modeling Pang Dong Lai" to "scenario-based self-operation," with product strength beginning to emerge. However, contradictory rights issue data requires a more transparent financial narrative to bolster confidence in the transformation.

2. Walmart's Next-Gen Store Debuts in Chengdu; Poly Developments Signs Strategic Partnership

On 9 17, Walmart's Wanda Plaza Wenjiang Chengdu store opened its doors as the nation's first next-generation location, featuring a significantly expanded fresh food and produce section with Wojixian positioned at the prime entrance. Two days prior, Poly Development signed a strategic partnership with Walmart China to align across the full chain of development, operations, and services.

💡 SuperCai Review

Walmart is shifting from a "hypermarket legacy" model to a three-pronged strategy: private label growth, new store formats, and real estate partnerships. The independent identity of its Wow Fresh brand is now being established.

3. Hema returns to Fujian market; Xiamen fulfillment center opens on 9/21

Hema Fresh returns to Fujian: two front warehouses in Xiamen begin delivery on 9/21, and the offline experience store opens on 22. This marks the company's second push into Fujian after exiting three years ago. Market rumors suggest Alibaba is negotiating to acquire Pupu Supermarket; if successful, it would create a pincer movement in the region.

II. Leading Company Updates

🔵 Sam's Club / Walmart China

• 6 new stores hiring:Simultaneously launched in Beijing, Xiamen Xi'an, and other locations

• Next-Gen Flagship Store Launches in Chengdu:Wenjiang New Sun Plaza Store, Chengdu's 14th location

• Poly Developments Signs Strategic Partnership:End-to-end support for development, operations, and services

• WoJiXian Acceleration:Medicine-and-food-homology mooncakes, Disney collaboration, and strengthened brand independence.

🟢 Hema

• Returning to the Fujian Market:Xiamen pre-warehouse opens on 9/21; Experience store opens on 22.

• SuperBox NB surpasses 550 stores:50 stores open simultaneously, covering 24 cities

• Partnered with Suzhou and Yangzhou:Continuously encrypting the East China network

• Alibaba in talks to acquire Pupu:If successful, it will reshape Fujian's retail landscape.

🟣 ALDI China

• Hangzhou's first 11 stores confirmed:Qingchun Intime is now fenced off; expected to open in 2027/1.

• Sued by Shiseido:25 yuan primer "looks like" 540 yuan CPB; court session on 11/5

• Hefei continues to expand:Anhui headquarters established in Shushan District; multiple stores currently in progress.

🔴 Costco

• Global Vice President Zhang Sihuan Interview:Don't treat "maximum" as the goal; renewal rate target is 70%.

• New 9 stores over the next 4 years remain unchanged:From suburbs to city center

• Costco Next Shutdown:Exclusive official e-commerce partner of JD.com

🟣 Yonghui Superstores

• Guangzhou Beijing Road Store opens on 9 19:The Top 10 Health Scenarios Are Now Fully Implemented for the First Time

• Raised questions over conflicting private placement data:51 not yet upgraded vs. 216 funded for renovation

• "Fat Dong Lai"-style supermarket "fat transformation": reduced product varietyOfficial response on "periodic adjustment"

🟡 Pang Dong Lai

• New four-year contract for new employees sparks debate:Donglai Yu Responds to "Strictly Adhere to Labor Law"

• Mid-Autumn Festival Benefit: 7 boxes per person:Mooncakes + Fruit + Beer: Differentiated Standard Distribution

• Sales exceeded 195 billion in the first 8 months:Year-over-year growth of 26.98%

📌 More Company Updates

• Dingdong Maicai:Establish a PB Strategic Committee; the Private Brand division operates independently. Organic seasoning series priced at 9.9 yuan.

• Pupu Supermarket:The country's first offline store is scheduled to open in Fuzhou by the end of 10, featuring a 6500㎡ "supermarket + hot pot" concept.

• RT-Mart:"Super Hotpot Season" kicks off; four-city pre-warehouse rollout

• Rainbow Supermarket:Digital Twin Store Continuous Operations, 17000 IoT Devices

• Meituan XiaoXiang Supermarket:Collaborate with "Yi Fan Feng Shen" to launch a Tomato Egg Tart.

3. Industry Trends and Insights

📈 Retailer Private Brands: From "Budget Alternatives" to "Brand Assets"

CCFA/BCG Report: 40% of consumers are willing to buy private label products, yet penetration remains just 8%. Wojixian is building distinct brand equity; Dingdong has established a Private Brand Strategy Committee; and Hema's private label products drew over 1000K viewers in a single live stream with Li Jiaqi.

📈 Hard-discount players double down; results diverge sharply

11 listed supermarkets and retail chains reported 8 with declining revenue. Zhongbai's hard-discount model showed localized improvement but remains overall loss-making. Xinte Supermarket closed all its stores overnight in Changzhou. ALDI and Chaohesuan NB continue to expand aggressively.

📈 Offline补课 consensus in the pre-warehouse sector

Pupu's first offline store, spanning 6500 sqm, is set to open at the end of 10; Hema's pre-warehouse plus experience stores return to Fujian. As pure online growth hits a bottleneck, "visible ingredients" emerge as the new priority.

📈 Low-sugar, healthier mooncakes become the absolute mainstream for Mid-Autumn Festival

Hema's low-sugar mooncake sales grew by nearly 70%, and over 90% of gift boxes were priced under 200 yuan; Yonghui launched its low-GI series; Wojixian introduced "medicine and food same source" mooncakes.

IV. Policy and Supply Chain

  • Poly Developments × Walmart:Strategic partnership: full-chain integration to accelerate market expansion
  • Hema × Suzhou/Yangzhou:Forge strategic partnership, advance on two fronts
  • ALDI sued by Shiseido:Legal boundaries of private label "dupe" remain undefined
  • RT-Mart Food Safety Issues:Three stores failed spot checks within a week.

V. This Week's New Arrivals

Walmart

WoJiXian Medicinal-Edible Mooncakes

Wellness Ingredients + Mooncake Innovation

Dingdong Maicai

V5 Organic Seasoning Series

Small Pack + Organic + $9.9

Yonghui

Low-GI Mooncake Series

Less sugar, full flavor.

Ele.me Supermarket

Tomato Egg Tart

× "One Meal, One Legend" Collaboration

Hema

Electrolyte water

Sea Salt Lemon Flavor

VI. Next Week's Highlights

📅 9/21:Hema opens its Xiamen forward warehouse, launching Fujian's "second offensive"

📅 9/22:Hema Xiamen K11 and Zhonghua City Experience Store Open

📅 9/30:Yonghui's 10th store in Guangzhou Tianhe Hopson Hui begins trial operations

🎑 Peak Consumer Spending During the Dual Holidays:All supermarkets have launched full-scale promotions.

🔍 Trending:The Ahold vs. Shiseido case is scheduled to commence in 11, leaving the legal boundaries of private label "affordable alternatives" unresolved.

Information Source

  1. Yonghui Superstores Official - Guangzhou Beijing Road Store Grand Opening
  2. Jiemian News: The Fog Over Yonghui's "Fat-Redesign" Bill
  3. East Money - Walmart's Next-Gen Store Opens in Chengdu
  4. Poly Developments - Strategic Partnership with Walmart
  5. 36K - Walmart's Recommended Choice
  6. Taiwan Strait Net - Hema's First Store in Fujian
  7. ZAKER - Hema Front Warehouse Opens in Xiamen
  8. Foodaily - A Conversation with Costco's Zhang Sihan
  9. NetEase - Costco Can No Longer Remain Idle in China
  10. Winshang - Aldi's First Stores in Hangzhou
  11. LianShang.com - ALDI Sued by Shiseido
  12. East Money - Pang Dong Lai Four-Year Contract System
  13. Dahe Daily - Pang Dong Lai Mid-Autumn Festival Benefits
  14. Sina Finance - Dingdong Maicai PB Strategy Committee
  15. Sina Finance - Pupu's First Offline Store Nationwide
  16. 36K - Supermarket Hard Discount Self-Salvation
  17. 36Krypton - Xinte Supermarket Shuts Down Overnight
  18. Qilu Yidian - Low-Sugar Mooncake Market