Struggling in a quagmire of losses, the Yonghui Supermarket Co., Ltd. (referred to as Yonghui Supermarket, considered a benchmark enterprise in China’s fresh retail sector) has remained in a deficit state for two years, urgently needing a financial boost. However, the efforts to recover the outstanding 3.6 billion yuan have yielded no results in nearly two years, despite notable endorsements including from renowned tycoons like Wang Jianlin.
On April 14, Yonghui Supermarket announced that the company had recently received the arbitration ruling from the Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission. In the arbitration with Dalian Yujin Trading Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Dalian Yujin”) and related parties, all six requests submitted by Yonghui were fully supported.
According to the ruling, the total amount involved in the case is 3.88 billion yuan, including the unpaid consideration for the share transfer of 3.639 billion yuan, penalties of 218 million yuan, as well as legal fees, property preservation fees, arbitration fees, totaling around 22.08 million yuan.
Among these, the arbitration fees of 18.2516 million yuan are to be borne jointly by all respondents, with the remaining 3.861 billion yuan to be paid by the first respondent, Dalian Yujin. Wang Jianlin, Sun Xishuang, and the Dalian Yifang Group Co., Ltd. are listed as the second to fourth respondents, assuming joint liability.
Despite the effective ruling and the obligation to make payments within 20 days, the respondents have not yet settled the amount. The sum of 3.88 billion yuan holds significant importance for Yonghui Supermarket, which is still struggling in a deficit and crucial transformation phase.
The dispute over the outstanding payment stems from the “collection dilemma” faced by Yonghui Supermarket after clearing its stake in Wanda Commercial Management Co.
In December 2023, Yonghui Supermarket announced the sale of its 389 million shares of Wanda Commercial Management to Dalian Yujin for a total transaction price of 4.53 billion yuan. According to the original agreement, the price was to be paid in eight installments, with the final payment due on September 30, 2025.
However, Dalian Yujin, which was supposed to make the second installment payment by March 31, 2024, defaulted on the payment, followed by another default on the third installment.
With Dalian Yujin facing financial difficulties, Yonghui had initially made concessions. On July 26, 2024, the parties restructured the payment arrangement for the remaining approximately 3.84 billion yuan into eight installments. To secure the payments, various guarantors, including Wanda Group founder Wang Jianlin, Dalian Yujin’s actual controller Sun Xishuang, and Dalian Yifang Group, provided joint guarantees for the debt.
However, despite the endorsements from notable tycoons, the payments have not materialized.
On October 10, 2024, Yonghui Supermarket announced that Dalian Yujin’s failure to fulfill the payment obligations as agreed constituted a breach of contract. Subsequently, Yonghui Supermarket initiated a debt recovery action, which has been ongoing for nearly two years.
Wang Jianlin, the legal representative of Dalian Wanda Group Co., Ltd., has held the position of China’s richest person multiple times. At one point, Wanda Plaza had expanded to 513 locations nationwide.
Nevertheless, as of June 2024, Wanda Commercial Management’s interest-bearing debts reached 137.561 billion yuan, with 30.269 billion yuan due for repayment within a year, while the cash on hand stood at only 11.6 billion yuan, resulting in a funding gap of approximately 18.6 billion yuan.
According to incomplete statistics, from 2023 to September 2025, Wanda had sold at least 85 Wanda Plaza properties, including a bulk sale of 48 core projects in May 2025 worth around 50 billion yuan, selling over 30 properties in 2024, and an additional seven in early 2025.
The news of the restrictions on high consumption for Wang Jianlin and others erupted on social media on September 28th last year. However, just one day later on September 29th, Wang Jianlin’s high consumption limit was lifted.
Zhang Jian, a lawyer at Beijing Zhuo Hao Law Firm, stated that Wang Jianlin, Sun Xishuang, and the Dalian Yifang Group bear joint liability, meaning that if the first debtor (Dalian Yujin) fails to repay, Yonghui Supermarket can directly demand repayment from Wang Jianlin and Sun Xishuang.
Zhang Jian pointed out that if the respondents fail to fulfill the payment obligations on time, and even after court enforcement, they still do not repay, they will be listed as dishonest debtors and face restrictions on high consumption. This situation could also impact the companies under Wang Jianlin and Sun Xishuang, potentially hindering company financing or leading to court-ordered freezes on their company’s equity.
Regarding the risk assessment and response plan for the inability to recover funds, Yonghui Supermarket has not provided any response.
Recent financial reports from Yonghui Supermarket indicate that in 2025, the company achieved a total operating income of 53.508 billion yuan, a 20.82% decrease compared to the previous year. The extent of losses has significantly widened compared to 2024, with a net loss attributable to shareholders of the listed company amounting to 2.55 billion yuan, an increase of 1.085 billion yuan from 2024. The net loss attributable to shareholders, excluding non-recurring items, reached 3.399 billion yuan, an increase of 988 million yuan.
Simultaneously, losses from fair value changes in trading financial assets and other non-current financial assets totaled 448 million yuan, while the accumulated impairment provision for long-term assets amounted to 308 million yuan, substantially impacting Yonghui Supermarket’s profitability.
In an effort to reverse the situation, in May 2024, Yonghui Supermarket, with the assistance of Yu Donglai, the founder of another supermarket chain Pindao Lai, and his team, learned from Pindao Lai’s successful business model to revamp the operation of all national stores, implementing a strategy of reorganization and simultaneous closure of stores.
Yonghui Supermarket is a company listed on the A-share market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, operating over a thousand chain supermarkets in China. Public information reveals that Yonghui Supermarket has been facing operational challenges for several years. Since 2021, the company’s revenue has declined from 91 billion yuan to 53.5 billion yuan in 2025, almost halving in scale. Over the same period, the net profit has been negative for five consecutive years, with accumulated losses nearing 12.05 billion yuan from 2021 to 2025, making it one of the most severely affected companies in the A-share retail sector.