The renowned supermarket chain brand Da Run Fa’s parent company, Gao Xin Retail, has removed its CEO, Li Weiping. Li Weiping had been unreachable since last month.
According to reports from mainland Chinese media such as “Jiemian News” and “China Business News”, on the evening of March 8th, Gao Xin Retail, the parent company of Da Run Fa, issued an announcement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, announcing a significant personnel adjustment: Chairman Hua Yuneng was appointed as the company’s CEO, and a non-executive director was reassigned as an executive director. The former CEO Li Weiping was formally dismissed for “being long-term unreachable without requesting leave and unable to fulfill duties”.
The announcement indicated that Li Weiping would no longer serve as the CEO and authorized representative of the company but would remain an employee of the group. The relevant changes took immediate effect from that day.
It is reported that Li Weiping officially joined Gao Xin Retail on December 1, 2025, serving as an executive director and CEO, only a little over three months before being dismissed this time. She has previously worked at Huarun Supermarket, Lotte Supermarket, and joined Hema in 2018, holding key positions such as General Manager of the North China Beijing region and CEO of Hema Xiansheng.
In early February this year, there were rumors that Li Weiping was taken away by the police for investigation and had not been seen at the company since January 30. Gao Xin Retail responded on February 3, stating “fake news, false information”, but then confirmed on February 4 that they were unable to contact her.
The newly appointed CEO, Hua Yuneng, is 52 years old and has been a director and chairman of the board of Gao Xin Retail since March 2025.
Public records indicate that under Gao Xin Retail, they own multiple brands including Da Run Fa, M Member Stores, and as of September 30, 2025, they had 462 hypermarkets and several medium-sized supermarkets and member stores in 205 cities nationwide. In early last year, Dehong Capital acquired a 78.7% controlling stake in Gao Xin Retail for 13.1 billion Hong Kong dollars, and Alibaba exited its investment in Gao Xin Retail after 7 years.