Many are praising the “crowning” (封神, lit. sanctification) of Pangdonglai (also DL) in 2024, as owners of established supermarkets embark on pilgrimages to the Henan-based retailer. Yonghui Superstores, BBG and even top livestreamer Xinba have all paid a visit to Yu Donglai, founder of Pangdonglai, when he decided to venture into offline retail. Sam’s Club is also being teased as the “100 billion RMB (13.17 billion USD) supermarket” in China.
On 7 February, it was reported that Wumart, one of the oldest supermarkets in China, is also “Pangdonglai-ising” itself by optimising its stock and supply chain, similar to Yonghui’s transformation process. Founder Zhang Wenzhong nicknamed the “Father of Chinese Supermarkets”, already visited Yu in Xuchang, Henan last April. Wumart, founded in 1994, was also an investor in the transformed BBG. 4 days later, on 11 February, Pangdonglai announced that it would be hosting masterclasses online, this time for any businesses that shared its ideal model of life and work and wants to apply this to their own sector.
While Pangdonglai exports its business model out of its home province of Henan, the American warehouse club Sam’s Club is physically expanding in China. Having entered China 29 years ago, Sam’s Club has been opening 5-6 stores each year in the past 4 years. 80% of its stores, however, are South of the Yangtze River, with only 10 in the North, and 4 of them concentrated in Beijing.
Pundits predict the next step for Sam’s Club would be to expand in Northern China, but it would mean facing many of Pangdonglai’s disciples in the region. Yonghui is already covering regions within Sam’s delivery distance. More importantly, it has been reported that Sam’s Club will be entering Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan, where Pangdonglai has a strong presence and is also reported to be expanding. However, with Sam’s Club mostly attracting urban office workers who want high quality at a reasonable price, while Pangdonglai aims at the everyday shopper aiming for cost-effectiveness above all, the competition might not be as direct as one might expect.
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