Qian Damei stalled at 2,938 stores with a ¥288M loss and 197% gearing

钱大妈 (Qian Damei) grew from a single pork stall in 2012 into China's largest community fresh-food franchise, peaking at 3,700+ stores by 2021 through its "no overnight meat" model. But the rapid expansion masked structural problems: 98.6% of stores were franchised, and franchisees bore the cost of the daily-clearance discount system that started at 7 PM and gave away unsold stock by 11:30 PM. By 2022 the company had exited Beijing entirely after failing to replicate its South China success in northern markets.

When 钱大妈 filed its Hong Kong IPO prospectus in January 2026, it reported a net loss of ¥2.88亿 in the first nine months of 2025, a debt ratio of 197%, and just 2,938 stores remaining. Revenue had stagnated at ~¥117亿 since 2023 and declined 4.2% in 2025, while gross margins of 9% sat well below the industry average of 15–25%. CCTV had reported in 2021 that some franchisees were losing ¥40万 per year under the franchise model.