top of page
Search


China: Hema’s Strategic Transformation: From "New Retail Experiment" to Market Leader
Discount Retail Chain Hema NB as part of Alibaba`s HEMA group is growing strong in a highly competitive markets field here some data on the format. 1. Financial Performance & Ambitious Targets The 200B Goal: 2025 is a landmark year for Hema, with year-over-year growth exceeding 40%. GMV is expected to surpass 100 billion RMB, with a firm target to break the 200 billion RMB revenue mark within three years. Scale Comparison: A 200 billion RMB revenue would place Hema's volume o
5 days ago2 min read


China: Iceland enters China
Discount frozen food Retail Chain 𝗜𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 (RMB 40B annual turnover) has signed for its first full-capability East China flagship "Iceland Shopping Park" in Wuxi Liangxi, set to launch in Q3 2026. The project core is a 𝟯-𝗶𝗻-𝟭 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 (𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻 + 𝗠𝗖𝗡 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 + 𝗔𝗜 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁), competing with Sam's, ALDI and Hema. It integrates 200+ global/local brands (Chinese/Wuxi time-honored
Mar 51 min read


Germany: DRC at EuroShop 2026 - Driving the Future of Discount Retail
Discount Retail Consulting management team was out in full force at EuroShop 2026 in Düsseldorf on February 24 and 25. The event lived up to its reputation as a premier networking hub, allowing us to engage with an impressive mix of prospective clients and long-standing partners. The exhibition served as a vital touchpoint for our global network, offering the chance to reconnect with international clientele from China, Turkey, Germany, North-Macedonia, the UK, Russia, Thailan
Mar 21 min read


China: Hema NB opened 400 stores in 80 days
Discount Retail Chain NB stands for Neighbourhood Business. As the third division of the Hema business group, it is regarded as an important move for Hema to enter the community e-commerce. Hou Yi also placed high expectations on Hema NB, and defined the project as "Hema's People's Livelihood Project" in the internal letter. Hou Yi revealed that Hema NB started to form a team in March this year, and opened its first store in Shanghai on April 28. Up to now, there are more tha
Feb 205 min read


China: ALDI and Hema NB - Return to Simplicity
Discount Retail Chain ALDI and Hema Super-Value NB ( 超盒算NB) have gone a step further by selling products directly out of their original shipping crates and turnover boxes. They have stripped away the layers of packaging that define modern retail, returning to the most primal and core dimension: the exchange of goods. With an almost raw honesty, they tell us that the essence of retail has nothing to do with flashy appearances. Hard Discount retail can be summarized by four k
Feb 102 min read


China: The Chinese Discount retail evolution in 2025
Discount Retail became in 2025 a buzzword in China, with the concept of "discount" evolving beyond a mere consumer strategy of "buying more for less." It represented a significant strategic transformation for the entire industry. Reflecting on this, the global discount retail sector experienced an unprecedented upheaval, beginning with Aldi China with digital presence in 2017 and physical stores in 2019. Subsequently, the top three Chinese tech giants, JD.com and Meituan, ope
Feb 43 min read


China: Traditional Retailers Struggle to Adapt to the New Market Environment
The retail industry is undergoing a moment of "qualitative change" in China. Retailers such as Costco, Pinduoduo, Aldi, Pangdonglai and Ling shi Hen Mang (Snacks Busy) have risen rapidly through aggressive price advantages, carving up the market share of traditional supermarkets and even traditional e-commerce. As a result, declining performance, store closures, and bankruptcies have become the "new normal" in the retail track. In recent years, Snacks Busy opened 2,000 stores
Feb 33 min read


China: Hard Discounter Hema NB - from Incubation to Independence
Discount retail chain Chao He Suan (formerly Hema) NB, owned by Alibaba, has launched its first store in South China. This move also marked the moment when the core team defined their product and expansion strategy. Chao He Suan NB has grown to a point where its organizational structure, product development, and supply chain operate largely independently. "The notion that 'premium fruit goes to Hema Fresh (Freshippo) while mid-grade fruit goes to discounter Chao He Suan NB' i
Feb 33 min read


China: ALDI opens Four Stores simultaneously, accelerating China's Hard Discount Growth in Nanjing
Discount Retail Chain ALDI China simultaneously opened four new stores across four districts in Nanjing: Jianye, Qixia, Jiangning, and Pukou. This wasn't just a routine opening; it was a calculated strategic move. While the locations are geographically dispersed, they collectively cover Nanjing’s most representative residential hubs, just before Chinese new year. With these four successful store launches, ALDI’s national store count has reached 95, all concentrated in the Eas
Jan 273 min read


China: ALDI, The New "Supermarket Champion" of Personal Care
Discount Retail Chain ALDI is globally known for affordable groceries, its personal care line, specifically its private label brands like Lacura, is currently exploding on social media. In China, ALDI has recently sparked a "shopping craze" by offering high-end ingredients at "absurdly" low prices. Can a $7 product really replace a $600 luxury brand? ALDI China recently launched its Caviar Luxury Collection, marketed as "the first caviar essence of your life." Price Point: It
Jan 202 min read


China: Pangdonglai store visit in Xuchang
Discount Retail Consulting management team recently visited the Pangdonglai Angel City (天使城) store in its home town Xuchang. Pangdonglai (胖东来), often hailed as China's "retail miracle" or the "Trader Joe's of China," is a beloved supermarket and shopping mall chain based in Xuchang, Henan Province. It is only active with its 13 stores in the Henan province and plans to open a new store in the capital of Henan Province Zhengzhou in 2026. Pangdonglai is privately owned by the f
Dec 24, 20252 min read


China: DRC speaks on China's largest retail buying alliance event in Zhengzhou
Discount Retail Consulting (DRC) was invited as international experts to a high-profile CAA event with 500+ attendees. The member event is organised annually by the China Ants Alliance (CAA), a major retail buying alliance based in Zhengzhou, China. The 2025 National Private Brand Conference combined with the China Ants Alliance (CAA) Annual Meeting in Zhengzhou (December 15-16, 2025) was a massive success, with more than 3,000 retailers and suppliers visiting this annual eve
Dec 24, 20251 min read


Research: Chinese food suppliers eyeing British supermarkets
"The Grocer soon going to publish our next trade report (for Q3). We’re just looking at the data for the first couple of months of that. And from what we can see so far, we’re still seeing that persistent increase to the UK.” The top five product categories include fish, poultry, vegetables, confectionery and prepared foods. And some of the biggest increases are soft drinks, spirits, protein concentrates, animal fats and oils. So, why is it happening? What signs are there tha
Dec 8, 20255 min read


China: Hema NB doubles stores in six months to gain ground in China’s fragmented grocery market
Discount Retail Chain Hema NB learns Alibaba to anchor its discount retail push. In the first half of this year, Hema NB generated revenue of about RMB 8 billion (USD 1.1 billion), marking double-digit growth from the same period last year. The discounter now operates nearly 300 stores, doubling its footprint in six months, with most clustered in central and suburban areas of major cities in eastern China. Hema declined to comment on the figures. Earlier, the company introduc
Dec 3, 20254 min read


China: Hema NB gets competition, Meituan, JD.com, FD and Aldi fight for market share
Discount Retail Community Chains are the new collective format for retail brands in 2025. At the end of last year, the first store of the "Lianhua Fude (FD)" brand under Lianhua Huashang Group opened in Senhe Plaza, Hangzhou. It has 1,200 SKUs and the store's main products are fresh produce and food, marking the official launch of Lianhua Huashang discount store's new brand "Lianhua FD". On March 20, Dingdong Outlet Wuxi store officially opened. As a community discount store
Dec 3, 20254 min read


China: Discounts drive demand on JD, with active customers reaching 700 million
Discount Retail Online Retailer JD.com topped quarterly revenue estimates on Thursday, as the e-commerce giant benefited from steady consumer spending thanks to government subsidies and lower prices. JD.com saw growth in both user base and customer shopping frequency in the July-September quarter, CEO Sandy Xu told analysts on a results call, adding annual active customers hit 700 million in October. As China’s top home appliances retailer, JD.com has benefited from govern
Nov 15, 20252 min read


Germany: Exciting collaboration at Anuga 2025, DRC and Ottno forge new supply paths
Discount Retail Consulting Management joined forces with the procurement team of Ottno China at #Anuga 2025 to evaluate potential partnerships with A-brand and private label food manufacturers for one of China’s fastest-growing discount retail concepts, headquartered in Chengdu. Founded in 2021, #Ottno has rapidly expanded to 300 value-for-money discount stores across Sichuan and Chongqing province, offering an assortment of 800 SKUs from international and local brands, compl
Nov 6, 20251 min read


China: Exploration of Private Label Internationalization: European Retail Expert - DRC Discount Retail Consulting China Tour
Discount Retail Consulting (DRC) was also present in the media in China as a journalist followed us on our discount food and non-food private label trip to Shanghai, Yiwu, Luohe, Zhengzhou and Hangzhou. Read more: Weixin Official Accounts Platform #smartdiscount #weixin #trip #china #fmcg #nonfood #privatelabel #pl #drc #discount #retail #consulting #discountretail #discountretailconsulting #retailconsulting #google #yiwu #luohe #shanghai #aldi
Nov 3, 20251 min read
<a href="https://www.bloggerei.de/" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.bloggerei.de/bgpublicon.jpg" alt="Bloggerei.de" /></a>
bottom of page
