Alibaba Group's grocery retail arm Hema, also known as Freshippo, has officially exited the membership store business, shuttering all Hema X locations as it pivots toward more profitable formats amid intensifying competition in China's retail market.
阿里巴巴集团旗下的杂货零售部门盒马鲜生(也称为Freshippo)已正式退出会员店业务,关闭了所有盒马X门店,因为它在中国零售市场竞争加剧的情况下转向了更有利可图的模式。
Hema said that its Shanghai Senlan store, the last remaining Hema X location, will cease operations on Aug 31. The closure follows the shutdown of stores in Beijing; Suzhou and Nanjing of Jiangsu province in late July. After the Senlan store closure, Hema will no longer operate any stores under the membership model.
盒马表示,其上海森兰店是盒马X最后一家门店,将于8月31日停止运营。在北京门店关闭之后,该店也随之关闭;7月下旬,江苏省苏州市和南京市。森兰门店关闭后,盒马将不再以会员模式经营任何门店。
Customers holding Hema X memberships — priced at 258 yuan annually for Gold and 658 yuan for Diamond — will be eligible for refunds or can transfer benefits to other Hema formats.
持有盒马X会员资格的客户(金卡年费258元,钻石卡年费658元)将有资格获得退款,或者可以将福利转移到其他盒马格式。
The move signals the end of Hema's experiment with membership stores, which the company once positioned as a "second growth curve" akin to US membership giants Costco and Sam's Club.
此举标志着盒马对会员店的实验结束,该公司曾将会员店定位为类似于美国会员巨头好市多和山姆会员店的“第二增长曲线”。
The first Hema X opened in Shanghai in October 2020. By October 2023, the format had expanded to 10 stores across key cities.
第一家盒马鲜生X于2020年10月在上海开业。到2023年10月,该模式已扩展到主要城市的10家门店。
Hema management made a strategic call earlier this year to concentrate resources on Freshippo and Hema neighbor business, both of which are showing stronger growth momentum.
今年早些时候,盒马管理层发出战略呼吁,将资源集中在Freshippo和盒马NB(邻居业务)上,这两家公司都显示出更强劲的增长势头。
In an internal letter at the end of 2024, Hema CEO Yan Xiaolei reaffirmed confidence in the company's Hema NB format, with a goal to expand to 300 stores in fiscal year 2025.
在2024年底的一封内部信中,盒马首席执行官严筱磊重申了对公司盒马NB模式的信心,目标是在2025财年将门店扩展到300家。
According to Alibaba's latest annual report, Hema plans to deepen its presence in emerging cities and counties, with a focus on value-driven formats. The company's gross merchandise value surpassed 75 billion yuan in fiscal year 2025, and its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation and amortization turned positive for the first time. Freshippo now operates over 420 stores, with online orders contributing more than 60 percent of sales.
根据阿里巴巴最新的年度报告,盒马计划深化其在新兴城市和县的业务,重点是价值驱动型业态。该公司2025财年的商品总价值超过750亿元,调整后的息税摊销前利润首次转为正值。Freshippo目前经营着420多家商店,在线订单占销售额的60%以上。
Analysts said the collapse of Hema X highlights the challenges Chinese retailers face in replicating the US membership model.
分析人士表示,盒马鲜生X的倒闭凸显了中国零售商在复制美国会员模式方面面临的挑战。
"Hema X charged membership fees, but it never truly validated a mature model," said Jason Yu, general manager of CTR Market Research. "It faced pressure from both global competitors like Sam's Club and domestic players, but lacked strong differentiation in product assortment and customer experience."
CTR市场研究总经理Jason Yu表示:“盒马鲜生收取会员费,但它从未真正验证过一个成熟的模式。”。“它面临着来自山姆会员店等全球竞争对手和国内企业的压力,但在产品组合和客户体验方面缺乏强大的差异化。”
While Sam's Club benefits from a global supply chain and robust local procurement, most Chinese entrants lack comparable sourcing and private-label development capabilities, said Yu.
余表示,虽然山姆会员店受益于全球供应链和强大的本地采购,但大多数中国进入者缺乏可比的采购和自有品牌开发能力。
"Costco has started to localize its assortment, but the offering still leans heavily toward an American lifestyle that doesn't fully align with Chinese consumer habits," Yu said. "Omnichannel capabilities also remain weak — there's no front-end warehouse system to support fast delivery expectations."
余说:“好市多已经开始对其产品进行本地化,但产品仍然严重倾向于与中国消费者习惯不完全一致的美国生活方式。”。“全渠道能力也仍然薄弱——没有前端仓库系统来支持快速交付的期望。”
Hema's retreat from the warehouse format also reflects broader changes in Chinese consumer behavior, particularly among middle- and high-income shoppers.
盒马放弃仓储模式也反映了中国消费者行为的更广泛变化,尤其是在中高收入消费者中。
"High-income households still value product quality and freshness, but they've become increasingly rational," said Laura Liu, senior research analyst at market observer Mintel China. "We're seeing more of them shift toward fresh-product discount stores, which offer a better price-to-value balance."
市场观察机构英敏特中国的高级研究分析师Laura Liu表示:“高收入家庭仍然重视产品质量和新鲜度,但他们已经变得越来越理性。”。“我们看到越来越多的人转向新鲜产品折扣店,这提供了更好的性价比平衡。”
According to Mintel, shoppers are no longer loyal to a single retail format. Instead, they alternate between warehouse stores and discount channels depending on purchase scenarios. This crossover trend reflects a broad shift toward flexible, needs-based consumption.
据英敏特称,购物者不再忠于单一的零售模式。相反,他们根据购买场景在仓库商店和折扣渠道之间交替。这种交叉趋势反映了向灵活、基于需求的消费的广泛转变。
Hema is doubling down on its discount Hema NB format to capture this evolving demand.
为了满足这一不断变化的需求,盒马正加倍努力推出折扣版盒马NB。
Consultancy Kantar Worldpanel data show that Hema NB boosted its penetration by 1.6 percentage points in eastern China during the first quarter of 2025, outpacing growth in traditional retail formats. Overall, Freshippo's reach grew 1.3 percentage points year-on-year in the first quarter.
咨询公司凯度消费者指数的数据显示,2025年第一季度,盒马NB在中国东部的渗透率提高了1.6个百分点,超过了传统零售业态的增长。总体而言,Freshippo的覆盖率在第一季度同比增长了1.3个百分点。
The company has also accelerated store openings, averaging one new location every five days in 2024.
该公司还加快了店铺的开业速度,2024年平均每五天就有一家新店开业。
The NB format, focused on community-based stores offering aggressively priced fresh goods and snacks, has shown particular strength in town-level markets. In the first quarter, discount snack store penetration reached 18 percent, with southern and lower-tier regions seeing the fastest growth.
NB模式侧重于以社区为基础的商店,提供价格高昂的新鲜商品和小吃,在城镇市场表现出了特别的优势。第一季度,折扣小吃店的渗透率达到18%,其中南部和低线地区增长最快。
"Consumers are seeking more value without compromising on quality," Liu said. "Discount retailers that deliver on both fronts are well-positioned to capture share in this new retail landscape."
刘说:“消费者在不牺牲质量的情况下寻求更多的价值。”。“在这两个方面都提供服务的折扣零售商处于有利地位,可以在这个新的零售格局中占据份额。”
closure
n.(永久地)停业
/ˈkləʊʒə/
warehouse
n.仓库、货仓
/ˈweəhaʊs/
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