This week, the supermarket and retail sector saw an explosion of news. Costco unveiled its first five-year expansion plan in China after seven years; ALDI officially entered Anhui; Rainbow Digital showcased its digital twin stores; Pang Dong Lai reported a 195 billion RMB performance; and a wave of semiannual reports from chain supermarkets emerged—clarifying the industry's core strategy of "streamlining operations and strengthening internal capabilities." Let's break it down.

1. This Week's Headline

🔥 Costco Unveils 5-Year Plan for China: Adds 9 New Stores, Opens Online Purchasing to Non-Members for the First Time

On 9 1, Costco revealed its expansion blueprint for mainland China for the 2026-2030 fiscal year: adding 9 new stores over the next five years, with 5 in South China and 4 in East China. The company also announced a strategic partnership with JD.com; the official Costco store on JD has launched, serving 2800 counties and districts nationwide, and for the first time opened online purchasing channels to non-members.

🔥 ALDI China's Anhui Headquarters settles in Hefei; the first 6 stores open simultaneously on 11.

On 9 3, ALDI officially signed its Anhui headquarters agreement and will be based in Shushan District, Hefei City. The first batch of 6 stores is expected to open in 11, including 4 in Hefei and 2 in Wuhu. This marks a key step for ALDI to complete the four-province collaboration across Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui in the Yangtze River Delta region, following its expansion in Shanghai and Jiangsu. The total number of stores nationwide has exceeded 120, with plans to add more than 50 new locations this year.

🔥 Private label brands enter a strategic breakout phase: penetration rate expected to surge from 8% to 20%-30%

On 9 2, CCFA and Boston Consulting Group released the "2026 China Private Label Development Report." The report indicates that China's supermarket private label sector has entered a rapid growth window, with penetration rates projected to rise from the current ~8% to 20%-5% over the next five years. Yonghui's private label share exceeded 10%,家家悦 reached 17%, and Tiantong unified its four sub-brands under "Tianyou."

II. Leading Company Updates

Sam's Club / Walmart China

• On 9 2, Shenzhen's Guangming District signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Walmart, planning to open the city's 6 Sam's Club, targeting an opening in 2029.
• Henan's first Sam's Club reaches structural completion; expected to open in 2027.
• Walmart's China business net sales in Q2 of fiscal year 2027 were $170 billion, up 20.7% year over year, with e-commerce accounting for 55% of the total.
• Sam's Club annual sales exceeded 1400 billion yuan, with over 1070 million paid members and an addition of 100 million new members in just 9 months.
• The hypermarket plans to upgrade more than 100 stores this year.

Hema

• Accelerating expansion of over 500 forward warehouses using the "store-to-warehouse" model.
• Joined Alibaba's E-commerce Business Group to accelerate the layout of front warehouses.
• Hangzhou Canal Shangjie Store 9 is closed on 5.

ALDI China

• On 9 3, Anhui HQ signed and settled in Shushan, Hefei; the first batch of 6 stores made their debut with 11.
• Hangzhou Fuyang signs on; suspense remains over Zhejiang's first-store race
• Over 120 stores nationwide

Yonghui Superstores

• Revenue for the first half of the year was 237.91 billion yuan, a 20.56% decrease year over year. Net profit attributable to the parent company was 2.53 billion yuan, marking a turnaround from a loss of 2.41 billion yuan in the same period last year.
• On 9/4, the revised private placement proposal was released, seeking to raise no more than 31.14 billion yuan, with 24 billion allocated to renovate and upgrade 216 stores.
• Completed renovation of 331 stores; net store count reduced from 403 to 382.
• Private label sales: 25.33 billion yuan, accounting for 10.07%

Pang Dong Lai

• Overall sales in 2026 from 1 to 8 exceeded ¥195 billion, up 26.98% year over year.
• Supermarket format contributed 107 billion yuan; Times Square store sales exceeded 44 billion yuan.
• 8 monthly sales reached 26.52 billion yuan, a year-over-year growth of 33.62%

Rainbow Supermarket

• On 9 month 4, sp@ce Skyworth Supermarket unveiled its first digital twin store nationwide at its Nanshan location in Shenzhen.
• Deploy over 17000+ IoT devices with 20 enterprise agents running in real time.
• Consolidate the four sub-brands of our private label into a unified brand: "Tianyou".

RT-Mart / Sun Art Retail

• Pre-warehouses are being launched simultaneously in Tianjin, Shanghai, Wuxi, and Tongliao.
• Sign comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with New City Joy City
• Partnering with Three Squirrels: First "Fresh Snack Shop-in-Shop" Launches in East China

JD Supermarket

• 9 3 12-Year Anniversary Event: Launch of Four Co-Creation Strategies
• Double-digit revenue growth in the first half, with user count up 15% year over year.

3. Industry Trends and Insights

IV. Policy and Supply Chain

Policy Side:In 2026, month 7, the Ministry of Commerce and 9 other departments issued "Opinions on Accelerating the Innovative Development of Retail," encouraging the development of private labels, strengthening procurement quality control, and implementing product traceability.

Supply ChainJD Fresh and Hotan, Xinjiang launched the inaugural "Opening Sheep" event, planning to purchase all of 10 million locally raised landmark sheep; RT-Mart and Three Squirrels announced a strategic partnership; multiple companies are accelerating direct sourcing from origins and building shorter fresh food supply chains.

V. This Week's New Arrivals

VI. Next Week's Highlights

• Costco continues to expand:Timeline for executing the five-year plan: Which cities in South and East China will see new stores first?
• Sam's Club Qingdao Express Delivery:JiSu Delivery launches in select areas of Chengyang on 9/17.
• Mid-Autumn Festival shopping prep:About three weeks until Mid-Autumn Festival; low-sugar, healthy mooncakes are the top-selling category.
• Aldi Hangzhou's First Store: The TeaserLinhong Wanda vs. Fuyang Jinhui City: Which Zhejiang First Store Will Claim the Title?
• Yonghui Private Placement Progress:31 billion proposals submitted to the Shanghai Stock Exchange for review