Hong Kong IPO Paused, Hidden Concerns Behind Wanchen Group's High Growth: Revenue Growth Slowing Significantly, Store Expansion Decelerating, Debt-to-Assets Ratio Reaches 74.6%

Source: Fast Moving Consumer Goods Talk

In January this year, Mingming officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, while Wanchen Group, known as the “No. 1 in Bulk Snacks,” recently pressed the “pause” button on its Hong Kong IPO process. On March 23, Wanchen Group’s IPO prospectus for the Hong Kong Main Board, submitted on September 23, 2025, was marked as “invalid” due to not completing the hearing or listing within six months of submission.

While the Hong Kong listing has been paused, Wanchen Group delivered an impressive financial report. According to the financial data, in 2025, Wanchen Group achieved revenue of 51.459 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 59.17%; net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.345 billion yuan, up 358.09%. Among these, bulk snacks became the main driver of performance. In 2025, the bulk snack business generated revenue of 50.857 billion yuan, a 59.98% increase, accounting for 98.83% of total revenue; by the end of 2025, the company had 18,314 stores.

In fact, since shifting to the bulk snack business in the second half of 2022, Wanchen Group has achieved rapid growth through quick store expansion and acquisitions to broaden its brand portfolio. From 2022 to 2024, the company’s revenue was 549 million yuan, 9.294 billion yuan, and 32.329 billion yuan, respectively, with year-on-year growth rates of 26.35%, 1592.03%, and 247.86%.

However, over a longer timeline, compared to nearly 16 times growth in 2023 and over 200% in 2024, the revenue growth rate in 2025 slowed to less than 60%, showing a clear decline. Looking at quarterly data, in 2025, the year-over-year revenue growth rates for Q1 to Q4 were 124.02%, 93.29%, 44.15%, and 27.15%, with the growth rate narrowing each quarter.

Meanwhile, Wanchen Group’s store expansion also slowed down. The financial report shows that in 2025, the company added 4,118 new stores, a decrease of about 56.5% compared to 2024; store closures increased by 96.7% to 602 stores, mainly concentrated in East and Central China.

Behind this rapid expansion, financial leverage risks still exist. As of the end of 2025, Wanchen Group’s total liabilities were 7.497 billion yuan, with an asset-liability ratio of 74.61%. Although this is lower than last year’s 79.85%, it remains high.

Jiang Han, senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, believes that high debt levels mean the company must bear high interest expenses, which compresses profit margins and reduces capital efficiency. Slowing expansion could lead to market share being taken by competitors, affecting the company’s market position. Under these circumstances, high leverage risks may trigger cash flow issues, impacting the company’s ongoing operations and growth.

“Currently, the competitive logic among leading bulk snack companies has changed significantly. In the past, the focus was on expanding store numbers to gain market share through scale. But as the industry surpasses 45,000 stores and approaches saturation, the competition has shifted toward refined operations and differentiation. Companies need to improve per-store profitability, optimize supply chain management to reduce costs, and strengthen brand building to enhance customer loyalty,” Jiang Han said.

Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng pointed out that the growth of bulk snack companies is not driven by increased revenue per store but mainly by expanding store numbers. This growth model is essentially “quantity without quality,” lacking sustainability. In reality, the store closure rate is also rising. For the Hong Kong stock market, regulators and investors demand high operational standards, but the low-price model behind bulk snacks often involves quality issues, which is undoubtedly the biggest challenge for companies seeking to list in Hong Kong.

Regarding when the company will refile and its store expansion strategy, Beijing Business Daily reporters sent interview requests to Wanchen Group but had not received a response as of press time.

However, according to Wanchen Group’s announcement on March 20, the company emphasized that it will steadily advance the application for H-share listing, further improve governance systems, and align with international regulatory standards through Hong Kong listing preparations. The Beijing Business Daily will continue to monitor Wanchen Group’s Hong Kong listing process.

Beijing Business Daily | Tao Feng, Wang Yuetong

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Editor: Chang Fuqiang