Industry News

Recently, Liangpinpuzi (603719. SH) released its 2025 annual report. Data shows that the company achieved a revenue of 5.486 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 23.38%, and a net loss of 148 million yuan attributable to the parent company, marking two consecutive years of losses.

 

As the "first stock of high-end snacks", Liangpinpuzi maintained a revenue growth rate of over 15% in the five years leading up to its listing in 2020. After going public, the company's revenue continued to grow. In 2022, the company's revenue was about 9.44 billion yuan, reaching its peak in recent years; The net profit attributable to the parent company was 335 million yuan, surpassing the industry leaders Three Squirrels (with a revenue of 7.293 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 129 million yuan).

 

However, with industry adjustments and consumers leaning towards "cost-effectiveness", mass market snacks will experience explosive growth from 2022 to 2023, dividing the market share of traditional snacks. According to data from iMedia Consulting, the total number of domestic bulk snack stores was only about 2500 at the end of 2021, about 13000 in 2022, and has exceeded 22000 by October 2023.

 

Liangpinpuzi, which specializes in high-end snacks, has been impacted by this shift in consumer trends. At the end of November 2023, Liangpinpuzi announced "price reduction without compromising quality", implementing the largest scale price reduction in 17 years, with an average price reduction of 22% for 300 products and a maximum reduction of 45%. At the same time, the company has eliminated a large number of inefficient stores, with a total of 3293 stores by the end of 2023, including 1256 directly operated stores and 2037 franchised stores; By the end of 2025, the number of stores had sharply decreased to 2107, including 684 direct operated stores and 1423 franchise stores, resulting in a net decrease in the number of company stores for two consecutive years.

 

In addition to large-scale "price reduction+store closure", Liangpinpuzi has also adjusted its operational strategy multiple times in recent years, from high-end snack strategy to "natural and healthy new snacks" brand upgrade, and then to the "one product, one chain" product operation model. However, none of them have been able to reverse the decline in performance. Instead, the contradiction between "upward transformation" and "downward price reduction" has squeezed profit space, becoming one of the important factors accelerating the decline in performance. In 2023 and 2024, the company's revenue continued to decline, reaching 8.046 billion yuan and 7.159 billion yuan respectively; The net profit attributable to the parent company was 180 million yuan and -0.46 billion yuan respectively, and the company's performance has declined for three consecutive years by 2025. During this period, the revenue of the company's main categories, including meat snacks, candies and pastries, nuts and stir fried goods, vegetarian delicacies, dried fruits and dried fruits, continued to decline.

 

The company stated in its 2025 annual report that the decline in performance is partly due to continuous optimization of store structure, elimination of inefficient stores, and a decrease in the number of stores, resulting in a decrease in the company's sales revenue; On the other hand, the company continues to optimize and adjust its products, resulting in lower prices and structural adjustments for some products, which has affected the company's gross profit margin.

 

Against the backdrop of sustained pressure on the company's performance, the failure of Liangpinpuzi's attempt to transfer control in 2025 has further deepened the uncertainty of the company's development. In 2025, the controlling shareholder of Liangpinpuzi, Ningbo Hanyi Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereinafter referred to as "Ningbo Hanyi"), discussed the transfer of control rights with Guangzhou Light Industry and Wuhan Changjiang International Trade due to its own debt pressure. In May, Ningbo Hanyi signed an agreement with Guangzhou Light Industry, stipulating that Guangzhou Light Industry has the right to acquire a portion of its shares and thus obtain control; In July, Ningbo Hanyi instead signed a 21% equity transfer agreement with Wuhan Changjiang International Trade, intending to "change ownership" of Wuhan Changjiang International Trade's actual controller, Wuhan State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. This move triggered Guangzhou Light Industry to file a lawsuit and apply for property preservation, freezing all related shares held by Ningbo Hanyi. As a result, the conditions for the effectiveness of the agreement between Ningbo Hanyi and Changjiang International Trade were not met. By the final deadline of October 15, 2025, the agreement will officially terminate and the transfer of control rights will be cancelled. In December of the same year, Guangzhou Light Industry changed its lawsuit request, giving up its controlling stake and seeking compensation of over 20.73 million yuan. As of now, the case is still ongoing.

 

The 'selling stocks' failed and there was no way to convert bonds, exacerbating the financial crisis of Ningbo Hanyi. In February of this year, Liangpinpuzi disclosed that due to overdue debts, there is a possibility of compulsory execution of some of the pledged shares held by Ningbo Hanyi, which may lead to changes in its ownership of the company's equity.

 

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