Zhongbai Suddenly Closes 30 Stores: Is It Time for Hypermarkets to Exit the Stage of History?

The Golden Age of Hypermarkets is Gone Forever.On December 4th, Zhongbai Group announced that, as part of its business transformation, it had closed a total of 30 hypermarket stores, including 13 closures in the first half of 2025. Among these 30 stores, a staggering 23 were shut down due to losses, accounting for 76.7% of the closures, while only 7 stores were closed due to expiring contracts. The one-time loss resulting from these store closures is estimated to reach 180 million RMB.The trend of losses at Zhongbai can also be observed from the company’s third-quarter report for 2025, released on October 29. In that quarter, Zhongbai’s revenue was 1.934 billion RMB, a year-on-year decrease of 20.08%. The net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company fell by 71.33% year-on-year. Furthermore, the third-quarter revenue declined by 19.41% compared to the previous year, and the net profit attributable to shareholders dropped by 44.56%.In fact, the situation of losses and store closures is not unique to Zhongbai; it reflects the structural pain that the entire hypermarket sector is facing as retail models undergo transformation.The Golden Age of Hypermarkets.In the 1990s, as China’s national economy grew rapidly, disposable income increased significantly, leading to a booming consumer demand. Against this backdrop, Carrefour opened its first store in Beijing’s North Third Ring Road in December 1995.

On the opening day, long queues formed at the checkout counters, with many popular products selling out quickly, and even bakery items were sold out and had to be freshly baked on the spot. The hypermarket model was a new and exciting retail format for Chinese consumers at that time.Compared to traditional retail models, hypermarkets offered a wide variety of products at low prices and met consumers’ desire for a “one-stop shopping” experience. These characteristics made hypermarkets like Carrefour perform well in Mainland China and expand rapidly. Other retail giants also joined the competition: in 1996, Walmart opened its first store in Shenzhen, and in 2010, Metro transformed into a hypermarket model. Local businesses also entered the market, with China’s first domestic hypermarket opening in 1999 in Shanghai, and the first Yonghui supermarket hypermarket opening in 2000.During its peak, Carrefour had over 300 stores in China, while Walmart had 420 stores by 2019, and Yonghui reached 1,440 stores at its peak. Capital markets saw similar successes: in 2008, the retail chain Bubu Gao went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange; in 2011, RT-Mart merged with Auchan and successfully listed in Hong Kong; in 2013, Yonghui Superstores went public on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.The Decline of Hypermarkets: Impact of Multi-format Retail.The rapid rise of hypermarkets in the 1990s occurred when consumer channels were limited and there was a shortage of goods.

At that time, the emergence of hypermarkets offering a wide selection of products at competitive prices was highly attractive to consumers. This business model became popular, with supermarkets often carrying more than 20,000 SKUs and some reaching up to 50,000, requiring large retail spaces of at least 8,000 square meters.However, this logic has been disrupted by the rise of e-commerce and instant retail. Online shopping and instant retail have dramatically increased the variety of available products, eroding the advantage of the hypermarket’s “one-stop shopping” model. Consumers can now enjoy the convenience of shopping from home, which has led to a decline in hypermarket sales, while their fixed costs remain unchanged, resulting in inevitable losses and store closures.According to data from Yilan Commercial, at least 720 supermarkets closed nationwide in the first half of 2025, with the closures of large-format stores such as BCF, CR Vanguard, Yonghui Supermarket, and RT-Mart accounting for more than half. Carrefour, once a leader in China’s hypermarket sector, now has only 3 stores remaining in Mainland China.In contrast to the hypermarket closures, small community stores and discount retailers are expanding rapidly. Zhongbai has launched “Xiao Bai Hui Discount Stores,” while Lianhua Supermarket has developed the “Lianhua Fude” discount format.

Hema Fresh focuses on fresh food and NB formats, and Meituan has introduced its own discount community supermarket, “Happy Monkey.” Many companies have also turned to the retail success story of Pang Donglai, hoping to achieve transformation by adopting its model. However, the results have been mixed. Yonghui, for example, saw its revenue drop by 25.55% in the third quarter of 2025, with online sales falling by 38.61%, and its store closure losses rose from 168 million RMB in Q2 2024 to 612 million RMB in Q3 2025.The Changing Retail Landscape: The Need for Transformation.In the past, hypermarkets successfully met consumers’ dual demand for product variety and competitive prices. However, the times have changed. Today’s consumers live in an environment of instant gratification, diverse channels, and an abundance of choices, making it harder to retain customers by relying solely on large-scale stores and product piles.For hypermarkets to survive, they need to truly understand and respond to consumers’ needs by shifting from “product aggregation” to “service for people.” The road to transformation will undoubtedly involve growing pains and trial and error, but as with the evolution of the retail industry, one thing remains constant: change is inevitable. Hypermarkets may not be doomed, but they must say goodbye to the old paradigm and rebuild their competitive edge in areas such as supply chain efficiency, consumer interaction, and scenario integration. The survival challenge is only just beginning.