RT-Mart Changes Leadership, Signaling the Rise of Women at the Helm of China’s Retail Industry

RT-Mart Leadership Change Sparks “Era of Female Leaders” in Chinese Retail.On the evening of November 30, a brief announcement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange sent ripples through China’s otherwise steady retail industry. GaoXin Retail (06808.HK), the parent company of RT-Mart, announced that Shen Hui resigned as Executive Director and CEO due to family reasons. Li Weiping will assume the position from December 1 for a three-year term.With this change, China’s top three retail giants—RT-Mart, Walmart China led by Zhu Xiaojing, and Hema led by Yan Xiaolei—are all headed by women. Coupled with leaders such as Chen Jia at Auchan, Xu Ruizhe at Liqun Group, and Zhu Jing at Aeon, the female presence in Chinese retail has never been stronger.For RT-Mart, however, this is not an isolated personnel change.Back in February, Dehong Capital acquired a 78.7% stake in GaoXin Retail from Alibaba for HKD 13.1 billion, marking the beginning of the so-called “Dehong Era” for the retail giant, which includes core brands such as RT-Mart and RT-Mart M membership stores.Over the following ten months, GaoXin Retail underwent a series of “surgical reforms”: major management reshuffles, regional structure consolidation, anti-corruption measures in the supply chain, and business format adjustments. Shen Hui, acting as the “firefighter CEO,” achieved the company’s core mission of turning losses into profits within 20 months, laying the foundation for GaoXin Retail’s transformation.Now, Li Weiping’s appointment marks the next phase: moving from “stabilization and consolidation” to “deep strategic advancement.”

Shen Hui’s 20-Month Tenure.In March 2024, Shen Hui returned as CEO to a company facing multiple challenges: post-Alibaba ownership changes, continued contraction of traditional hypermarkets, and intense market competition pressuring performance.During his 20 months in office, he closed unprofitable stores and optimized personnel and supply chain operations, delivering a turnaround. For FY2025, sales and marketing expenses were reduced by 16.2%, administrative costs dropped by 24%, ultimately achieving revenue of CNY 71.552 billion and net profit of CNY 386 million, successfully returning the company to profitability.During this period, RT-Mart focused on product strength revitalization, launching the “Everyday Low Price” series, the “Super Save” private label, and best-selling items, reshaping perceptions of high prices. In terms of formats, the company emphasized the “medium-sized supermarket model,” with 33 RT-Mart Super mid-sized community stores achieving a same-store growth of 5.9%. RT-Mart M membership stores expanded to seven locations, with membership exceeding 360,000, and membership fee revenue doubled, creating a multi-format combination of “hypermarkets + mid-sized stores + membership stores.”Store adjustments and online integration also progressed. The Kunshan store pilot streamlined 50% of SKUs, strengthened fresh and processed categories, achieving double-digit traffic growth; online B2C revenue rose 6%, accounting for 36.5% of total revenue, with warehouse-picking efficiency up 30% and costs down 15%.

The board of GaoXin Retail acknowledged Shen Hui’s role in enhancing brand price competitiveness and product strength, implementing the “medium-sized supermarket model,” and laying a solid foundation for store expansion and growth.Li Weiping’s Mission: Breaking Bottlenecks.While Shen Hui’s core task was “laying the foundation,” Li Weiping’s mission is breaking bottlenecks.At 47, Li brings 26 years of retail experience. She began her career in 1999, holding key positions at China Resources Vanguard and Lotte Mart, progressing from Purchasing Manager to General Manager of North China, gaining extensive traditional retail operations experience.After joining Hema in 2018, she led the Beijing region from loss to profitability and gradually rose to CEO and Chief Product Officer, overseeing national operations. During her tenure, she drove innovations in new retail, including product optimization, supply chain integration, and online-offline synergy, forming a practical and innovative retail management methodology.Her expertise in product strategy and user experience perfectly aligns with GaoXin Retail’s transformation needs—RT-Mart requires a leader familiar with both traditional retail foundations and new retail practices to upgrade the full chain from products to services.GaoXin Retail announced a three-year service agreement with Li, offering a fixed annual salary of CNY 3.36 million plus discretionary management bonuses. She will also serve as the company’s authorized representative, overseeing overall business operations.

Although Li’s appointment takes effect December 1, the company’s announcement already outlined her core action plan under the existing three-year strategy:Product: Raise quality to meet new customer expectations; deepen supplier collaboration, traceability, and direct sourcing; optimize efficiency with quality, differentiation, and cost-performance advantages.Organization: Restore startup agility and execution, implement rapid decision-making, encourage trial-and-error iterations, refine competitive incentive systems, and provide clear career paths.Format: Enhance the consumer experience with human-centric upgrades, accelerate store adjustments, multi-format coordination, and online-offline integration, expanding user base and brand influence.These plans build on Dehong Capital’s previous strategic core of “healthy products + enjoyable experiences + attentive service,” reflecting strong alignment between the new management and shareholders.Dehong Capital’s Three-Year Strategic Game.RT-Mart’s leadership change is part of Dehong Capital’s broader plan to transform the traditional retail giant and accelerate physical retail upgrades.In the ten months since taking control in February 2025, Dehong has executed a clear reform roadmap:Management reshuffle: Founder Huang Mingduan resigned as Board Chairman; Dehong co-founder Hua Yuneng took over; Alibaba-appointed non-executive directors exited; core Dehong nominees joined the board, forming a new decision-making core.

Executive changes: Long-serving General Manager of Grocery, Lü Guoming, retired; senior executive Guan Mingwu was arrested over supply chain misconduct, reflecting a complete restructuring of the management system.Regional consolidation: GaoXin streamlined five operating regions into four (East China, South China, North China, Northeast), integrating stores for efficiency and cost savings, facilitating nationwide expansion of RT-Mart Super and new formats.With management transitions completed in six months and regional structures optimized, Dehong moved from “short-term turnaround” to “long-term growth.”Mid-2025 performance shows GaoXin Retail achieved revenue of CNY 30.502 billion, down 12.12% year-on-year, with net loss of CNY 123 million. Factors include weak consumer demand and calendar effects, but deeper issues were also exposed: the need for digital infrastructure rebuild, differentiation gaps in M membership stores compared with top brands, underdeveloped private label share, and the need for more organizational agility.These challenges highlight why Li Weiping was entrusted with leadership—her experience uniquely equips her to implement these “internal medicine-style” transformations.Strategic Outlook and Challenges.According to Dehong’s plan, GaoXin Retail aims to complete adjustments to 500 stores within three years and continue expanding front warehouses, already established in five cities with average daily sales per warehouse of CNY 50,000.

From management restructuring to organizational integration, supply chain anti-corruption, format pilot adjustments, and now CEO transition, every step aligns with the three-year strategy of “healthy products + enjoyable experiences + attentive service.” Li’s appointment signals the move from “breaking old systems” to “building new structures.”Li faces three major challenges over her three-year tenure:Performance balance and breakthroughs: Managing ongoing investments in store adjustments, digital infrastructure, and supply chain upgrades while maintaining profitability.Competitive differentiation: Creating distinct advantages across multiple retail tracks, including community stores, membership stores, and online channels.Fundamental transformation: Moving beyond cosmetic adjustments to sustainable core competencies, including digital capability enhancement, deep private label development, and organizational transformation.Consumer demand continues to evolve, emphasizing experience and emotional value, challenging the new management to transform RT-Mart from a “legacy giant” into a “new retail benchmark.”The leadership change at RT-Mart exemplifies China’s traditional retail transformation: in the face of e-commerce disruption, consumer upgrades, and format iteration, survival requires proactive change, continuous evolution, and strategic execution. Li Weiping’s three-year tenure will be closely watched by the industry as she leads RT-Mart through this critical transformation.