No. 10: Zhongbai Warehouse
Revenue: RMB 12.56 billion (US$1.85 billion)
Revenue change: -30.1%
Stores: 483
Store count change: -32.4%
Zhongbai Group is one of Hubei province’s largest local retailers, operating Zhongbai Warehouse, Zhongbai Supermarket and Zhongbai convenience stores, with a strong presence in central China’s Wuhan and across Hubei.
Since 2024, Zhongbai Warehouse has been revamping stores by learning from the Pangdonglai model, a radical, people-first retail philosophy pioneered by Chinese businessman and Pangdonglai founder, Yu Donglai. The overhaul has involved replacing nearly 80% of products, introducing more than 6,000 new items and removing almost 10,000 SKUs. The result is a sharper focus on quality and value – a shift that could create more opportunities for value-driven wines to enter the supermarket channel.
No. 9: Pangdonglai
Revenue: RMB 12.64 billion (US$1.86 billion)
Revenue change: 56.2%
Stores: 13
Store count change: 8.3%
Few regional retailers in China have become as influential as Pangdonglai.
Founded by Yu Donglai in Xuchang, Henan, in 1995, Pangdonglai has remained focused on a handful of cities in Henan rather than expanding nationwide. With fewer than 20 stores, it has nevertheless achieved sales productivity, foot traffic and profitability far above the industry average.
Its success is not built on price alone, but on a business model centred on staff, products and service.
Pangdonglai is known for generous return policies, transparent after-sales service, strong complaint-handling procedures and strict food-safety standards, all of which have helped build unusually high consumer trust.
It also places unusual emphasis on employees, offering pay and benefits above the industry average, as well as improved leave, training and welfare systems. Yu has long argued that only respected employees can provide genuinely good customer service — a management philosophy that many Chinese retailers are now trying to emulate.
Since 2024, traditional supermarket chains including Yonghui, Zhongbai and Hyper-Mart have invited Pangdonglai’s team to help revamp stores, hoping to learn from its product structure, merchandising, employee management and service standards.
In alcohol, Pangdonglai’s private-label German-style wheat beer has become a consumer hit because of its strong value-for-money proposition. The product has since entered revamped Yonghui and Hyper-Mart stores, where it has often been in short supply.
In 2025, Pangdonglai launched a private-label Belgian-style craft white beer, which also repeatedly sold out.
Wine is not currently a major private-label category for Pangdonglai. Its wine selection focuses less on breadth and more on curation. Stores mainly carry imported wines from France, Italy, Spain, Chile, Australia and New Zealand, while also retaining a smaller selection of quality Chinese wines.
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