Shougan Maifu denied it was closing — and the denial emptied every store in Changsha

Shougan Maifu (手感麦夫), founded in Changsha in 2015, was one of the city's best-known 'internet-famous' bakery chains, at its peak running more than 20 stores known for queues. By early December 2025 several branches had shut without notice and staff reported unpaid wages. The brand was already in trouble when, on 4 December, general manager Lu Xingzhu acknowledged the wage arrears to reporters but insisted the brand was 'not closing' — only 'optimising' four loss-making stores.

The reassurance backfired. Shougan Maifu, like most Chinese bakery chains, ran on prepaid stored-value cards (储值卡): customers paid money onto a card to spend later. Told the brand was sound but seeing shops dark, cardholders rushed the stores still open to spend their balances before it was too late. The run was severe enough that the Wanjiali branch limited purchases and saw hour-long queues, and the Yuhua District market regulator posted a consumer warning at one branch over refund disputes.

The denial had run straight into the wage arrears it was trying to play down. On 20 December the Dongtang store posted a notice reading 'closed, no staff'; the Xiyingmen store shut over a pay dispute; the Fenghuanghai branch leader became unreachable and regulators locked the storefront. Two days later, on 22 December, Shougan Maifu posted an open letter admitting 'mistakes in brand operation and decision-making' and suspended all stores for 15 days of rectification. By March 2026 every Changsha store was dark, and rival chain Youhe offered to honour the stranded member balances at no cost.

The collapse was an industry pattern, not a lone accident. Bakery chains across China were squeezed between high-end experiential shops and ultra-cheap supermarket bread, and commentators flagged 'stagnant product iteration', high rent and thin margins as the forces pushing 'middle brands' out first. Shougan Maifu's specific error was sharper: a denial its own wage book contradicted, delivered to customers holding cards they could only redeem by showing up at once.