Bestore closed 1,186 stores in 2 years — from ¥9.4B revenue to a ¥148M loss

Bestore (良品铺子) was founded in Hubei in 2006 and grew into one of China's most recognized snack brands, known for its 'premium snack' (高端零食) positioning. It listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2020 and was valued as a leading consumer brand — a pure play on the Chinese middle class's willingness to pay more for quality snacks.

The decline was fast. Revenue fell from ¥9.44 billion in 2022 to ¥8.05 billion in 2023, ¥7.16 billion in 2024, and ¥5.49 billion in 2025 — a cumulative 42% drop in three years. Net profit turned from ¥180 million in 2023 to a ¥46 million loss in 2024, then deepened to a ¥148 million loss in 2025, the worst performance since listing. The store network, which had peaked at 3,293 locations in 2023, contracted to 2,107 by the end of 2025 — 1,186 net closures in two years.

The root cause was a structural shift in China's snack retail market. Discount snack chains like 零食很忙, 赵一鸣, and 好想来 grew rapidly by offering lower prices and higher turnover, pulling price-sensitive customers away from premium brands. Bestore's 'premium' positioning — higher prices for better ingredients — lost meaning in a market where consumers could get the same products at half the price from new-format discount stores. The company tried to adjust by lowering prices and opening its own discount outlets, but the pivot was too late and the brand premium had already evaporated.

Bestore's decline mirrors Three Squirrels' — both were online-first snack brands that expanded into physical retail and found that premium positioning in snacks is a fragile edge when cheaper alternatives are available on every street corner.

Bestore cut prices and opened discount outlets, but the pivot came too late: revenue fell 42% to ¥5.5B and 1,186 stores closed, turning a ¥180M profit into a ¥148M loss.

Bestore's 'premium snack' positioning collapsed as discount snack chains offered similar products at much lower prices — price-conscious consumers had no reason to pay the premium.

The store network had grown to 3,293 locations based on a premium model that could not survive the price war — 1,186 closures in two years were the correction.

Revenue fell 42% from its 2022 peak in just three years, turning a ¥180M profit into a ¥148M loss — the contraction was too fast for the fixed-cost base to adjust.

Bestore's attempt to pivot to discount models came too late — competitors already owned the low-price position and had the supply chain to defend it.

A premium brand lasts only as long as customers believe the premium is justified. When cheaper competitors offer the same product, the brand premium becomes a price the market will not pay.

Bestore continued to operate 2,107 stores as of 2025, with its direct-store count (684) and franchise stores (1,423). The company attempted to launch a discount sub-brand and cut prices across its core product lines, but the trajectory of revenue decline and store closures continued. The stock fell sharply from its 2020 IPO peak, though specific stock price data for 2025 was not disclosed in available sources.