After three years of pandemic lockdowns, despite the Chinese authorities lifting restrictions, the Chinese economy has continued to stagnate over the past two years, making business operations particularly challenging for supermarkets. Recently, China’s well-known veteran chain supermarket giant, Renrenle, with nearly 30 years of history, announced its farewell to the A-share market.
On the evening of May 7, *ST Renrenle (Renrenle, 002336.SZ) issued a statement stating that the company received a “Notice of Termination of Listing in Advance” issued by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on May 6, 2025. The Shenzhen Stock Exchange intends to terminate the company’s stock listing.
Renrenle is a retail enterprise established in 1996 in China, and it was once a flagship of retail enterprises in Shenzhen, competing with Walmart and Carrefour. After its listing in 2010, Renrenle’s revenue exceeded billions of yuan for several consecutive years, with stores spread across the country. However, in recent years, its performance has been on a downward trend, facing four consecutive years of losses, and now it is insolvent.
According to Renrenle’s annual report for 2024 released on April 30, its revenue in 2024 was approximately 1.43 billion yuan, a sharp decrease of 49.86% year-on-year, with total assets decreasing by 50.94% and net assets approximately -404 million yuan. As of December 31, 2024, Renrenle had 32 stores. During the reporting period, the company closed 45 stores, transferred 15 stores, and opened one new store.
It is noteworthy that in Renrenle’s previous performance forecast, the company mentioned a projected profit of 410 million yuan to 460 million yuan for 2024. However, the annual report shows that the anticipated profit of over 400 million yuan turned into a loss of over 17 million yuan. This marks the fourth consecutive year of losses for Renrenle.
Currently, Renrenle’s stock has been suspended from trading, and prior to the suspension, the stock price had hit the limit down for several days, with a cumulative drop of over 40% within the year, resulting in a total market value of 1.624 billion yuan.
Renrenle is a state-owned holding company in China, with the Xi’an Qujiang New District Management Committee as its ultimate controlling entity.
According to reports from mainland media Daily Economic News, amidst the turbulent situation at Renrenle, Chairman Hou Yanhui suddenly resigned. On the evening of March 19, Renrenle announced that Chairman Hou Yanhui, who had been in office for just a year and a half, resigned due to health reasons, relinquishing all positions, including director, chairman, and legal representative.
Reported by Southern Metropolis Daily, Hou Yanhui’s resignation still requires him to continue performing his duties until a successor is in place. This “resignation without leaving the position” has sparked speculation from the public about whether there was a motive to evade legal responsibilities.