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USA: DRC and Santander make the case for discount retail as a global investment theme
At the 2026 Global Consumer & Retail Conference in Manhattan on October 8, DRC and Santander discussed how discount grocers are reshaping food retail worldwide, and why investors are paying attention. The deal flow is clear. This year, Aldi Süd took a minority stake in Philippine hard discounter Dali, which has grown to more than 1,300 stores since 2020. In 2024, Mexico’s Tiendas 3B raised close to $600 million in its NYSE listing. Strategic investors and public markets are n
1 day ago1 min read


China: Why Hard Discount Is Becoming the Life-or-Death Anchor for Commercial Malls
Across global markets—and with striking velocity in China—a structural shift is underway in commercial real estate: shopping malls are aggressively evicting legacy hypermarket anchors and replacing them with hard discounters and high-velocity value formats. The map is being redrawn. Legacy hypermarkets like Yonghui, Sun Art Retail (RT-Mart), and Walmart are scaling back or exiting prime basement locations, while hard discount formats — led by international heavyweights like A
Oct 23 min read


China: Meituan's Happy Monkey surpasses 100 stores
Discount Retail Chain Meituan's Happy Monkey has officially crossed the 100-store milestone, opening 8 stores in two days, with its 100th store located in Zhongshan. Maintaining a steady pace of 7 to 8 new stores per month, it has emerged as a dark horse in the hard discount sector. 8 Stores Opened in 2 Days Happy Monkey’s 100th Store Lands in Zhongshan, on September 30, the Guzhen World Trade Plaza store of Meituan Happy Monkey Supermarket officially opened. This is among th
Oct 23 min read


Research: The Rise of the "Kakashi School": How Chinese Meituan’s Happy Monkey is Upending Brick-and-Mortar Retail
As the traditional, one-size-fits-all Carrefour model continues to decline, brick-and-mortar retailers are aggressively seeking new paths to survival. The latest disruptive strategy gaining traction is the "Kakashi School." Created by Meituan’s crossover venture, Happy Monkey (开心猴子), this model bridges the gap between e-commerce and physical retail. Named after the "Copy Ninja" Kakashi Hatake from the anime Naruto, this school does not waste resources inventing its own moves
Jun 43 min read


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
Mar 92 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 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: Meituan opens its first brick-and-mortar discount store in Hangzhou
Online Retail Chain Meituan opened its first discount store in Hangzhou, China. The discount format has the brand name is "Happy Monkey"....
Sep 8, 20257 min read
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