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Retail earnings diverge in first half of 2026 as community store formats accelerate
Traditional retail companies posted clearly divergent results in the first half of 2026. Yonghui Superstores and Grandbuy turned profitable, while Zhongbai Holdings Group and Liqun Commercial Group remained in the red. Yonghui Superstores expects first-half net profit attributable to shareholders of 250 million yuan and non-GAAP net profit of 30 million yuan, mainly helped by completing renovations at 331 stores, lifting gross margin by 1.6 percentage points year on year and cutting period expense ratio by 1.8 percentage points. However, based on first-quarter figures, its second-quarter non-GAAP net profit was negative 217 million yuan. Grandbuy expects first-half non-GAAP net profit of 20 million to 25 million yuan, returning to profit through cost reduction and efficiency gains. Zhongbai Holdings Group expects a non-GAAP net loss of 269 million to 352 million yuan, while Liqun Commercial Group expects a non-GAAP net loss of 48 million to 65 million yuan, with both weighed down by declining foot traffic, online diversion and persistently high fixed costs. At the same time, community store formats are expanding rapidly. Walmart China opened its 20th community store in Shenzhen, Meituan's community hard-discount supermarket Happy Monkey opened three new stores in Beijing and Tianjin, and Freshippo has made its community discount format Freshippo NB one of its main store types. Among A-share companies, Hongqi Chain expects first-half net profit attributable to shareholders of 266 million to 275 million yuan and non-GAAP net profit of 275 million to 284 million yuan. Its high-density community network is seen by the industry as a key advantage that sets it apart from the hypermarket model.