Will Yonghui become a burden to Miniso?

Why did Ye Guofu initially believe in the synergistic effects of Yonghui?

Reporter from Jiemian News | Zhao Xiaojuan

Editor from Jiemian News | Ya Hanxiang

On March 31, Miniso released its fiscal year 2025 annual report. This retail company, known for high growth, continued to see revenue rise in FY2025, but profits were clearly under pressure. The drag on profits was not from a sudden slowdown in Miniso’s core business, but from an investment that Ye Guofu had high hopes for: Yonghui Superstores.

The financial report shows that Miniso achieved approximately 19.2 billion yuan in operating revenue in FY2025, a 20% increase year-over-year; net profit attributable to the parent was only 1.35B yuan, a sharp decline of 48.5% from 2.62B yuan in 2024. Among these, the investment loss in Yonghui Superstores was 814 million yuan, accounting for over 60% of the net loss, becoming the main reason for the performance drag.

Ye Guofu, founder of Miniso, emphasized at the earnings conference, “My core business that I personally focus on has always been Miniso. It is our foundation and also the core of our future sustained efforts and growth breakthroughs. So rest assured, I devote over 90% of my energy to Miniso. This will always be my highest priority, and I will never let investments distract me.”

This statement shows a subtle change from his previous expressions.

“Everyone just doesn’t understand, if everyone understood, I wouldn’t have a chance.” On September 23, 2024, Miniso, through its subsidiary Guangdong Juncai International, acquired a 29.4% stake in Yonghui Superstores for 6.27 billion yuan, becoming its largest shareholder. The decision and transaction were completed in just three months; on the night of the announcement, Ye Guofu also posted a message on his social circle, showing high confidence in “bottom-fishing investment.”

Ye Guofu is optimistic about Yonghui’s “Pang Donglai-style” transformation prospects, believing that both sides can form synergies in sinking the supermarket channel, integrating fresh supply chains, and sharing offline traffic, thereby opening new offline retail spaces for Miniso.

In other words, what Ye Guofu values is not a currently profitable and stable supermarket company, but an offline retail platform that still has the opportunity to grow again. Miniso also clearly stated in its annual report that it remains optimistic about the development of China’s offline retail industry and believes that investing in Yonghui aligns with the group’s investment strategy.

Judging whether Yonghui will truly become a “burden” for Miniso may not be just about the profit statement over one year, but whether this investment can realize the synergistic value initially envisioned.

According to the management’s previous expectations, there is some room for synergy between the two. Previously, Miniso’s CFO Zhang Jingjing predicted that there was potential in supply chain and product development, for example, Yonghui’s home goods category is not highly differentiated and has low gross margins, while Miniso excels in this area—by integrating supply chains to improve category efficiency and profitability.

But at least so far, this kind of synergy remains more in the realm of imagination.

On one hand, Yonghui’s own operational recovery has not yet moved out of the loss zone. In 2024, Yonghui Superstores lost 1.47B yuan; the FY2025 performance brief shows that the full-year revenue was 53.51B yuan, a 20.82% decline year-over-year; losses expanded to 2.55 billion yuan. With a 29.4% stake, Miniso needs to recognize an investment loss of over 800 million yuan under the equity method, directly consuming more than half of its profit.

On the other hand, the “synergistic effects” in operations between Miniso and Yonghui Superstores have not yet fully manifested.

According to Caixin, in March 2025, Lai Shuzhen from Miniso joined Yonghui as the head of standard products, aiming to leverage Miniso’s advantages in product selection for daily chemical products. However, a visit to Yonghui’s daily chemical product shelves by Jiemian News found that Yonghui’s product restructuring still largely follows the previous “Pang Donglai” product structure, with no obvious presence of Miniso IP products. On March 31, Ye Guofu emphasized at the latest earnings conference that over 90% of his energy remains focused on Miniso’s core business, with Yonghui managed by an independent team.

Source: Yonghui official

In other words, although this investment has already brought financial costs, the expected synergistic benefits have not yet been realized.

According to Yonghui’s mid-year report for 2025, the company signed 2,860 supply contracts for standard products, reducing suppliers by 50%. Meanwhile, the proportion of fresh produce direct procurement increased to over 60%, and self-operated sales in the 3R segment rose to 78%.

Regarding private brands, Yonghui redefined its focus on consumer essentials, launching two private brand products during the period. The goal for 2025 is to develop 2 products worth over 500 million yuan and 10 products worth over 100 million yuan. Yonghui has not disclosed sales figures or revenue proportions for its private brands.

On March 27, Yonghui CEO Wang Shoucheng publicly stated that after the first phase of transformation, Yonghui has achieved growth in both store traffic and sales for five consecutive years. The company plans to enter the “refined deep cultivation” second phase of transformation in 2026, aiming to “achieve corporate health” before June 2027.

Meanwhile, Yonghui’s losses and debt risks may have a reverse transmission effect, leading to a decline in Miniso’s valuation and stock price. As of April 1, Miniso’s stock had fallen from a high of HKD 54 a year ago to HKD 32 today, a nearly 33.3% drop.

Of course, it is still premature to conclude that Yonghui will become a long-term “burden” for Miniso. After all, for Ye Guofu, this was never a short-term transaction aimed at pleasing quarterly reports, but a long-term investment.

But what investors in the capital market care more about is whether the current losses are just the price paid during the transformation phase, or if they will evolve into a long-term burden outside Miniso’s main business, continuously eroding profits and market confidence.

The key factors that may determine the answer are twofold. First, whether Yonghui can narrow its losses quickly in the second phase of transformation and restore operational quality. Second, whether Miniso can truly transplant its supply chain and product development capabilities into Yonghui’s system.

If Yonghui cannot stop the bleeding, and if Miniso cannot realize the expected synergy, then the answer to the headline question will be a definite yes.