Pang Donglai dealt a heavy blow to MINISO.

The aftermath of MINISO's acquisition of Yonghui Superstores has yet to subside, and Pang Donglai, which successfully revamped Yonghui Superstores, has announced it will no longer 'assist enterprises.'

Although we do not yet know whether Pang Donglai's move is related to MINISO, if Pang Donglai stops revamping Yonghui Superstores, then Ye Guofu's ambitious gamble may face major trouble. In his eyes, Yonghui Superstores, which he considered a great investment target, might truly become a hot potato.

Looking at Ye Guofu's acquisition of Yonghui Superstores, it can be said to be a thorough capital operation.

For Pang Donglai, which has never been particularly interested in capital, this is undoubtedly a drawback.

Ye Guofu once hoped to leverage Pang Donglai's model, Yonghui Superstores' channels, and MINISO's product chain to create a Chinese version of Sam's Club. Now, with Pang Donglai no longer cooperating with MINISO, Ye Guofu's grand vision has completely fallen apart.

For Ye Guofu, this is undoubtedly a heavy blow.

However, if we understand the differences between Pang Donglai and MINISO, we might not be surprised by Pang Donglai's withdrawal and might even find it reasonable.

Similarly, by observing the divergence between Pang Donglai and MINISO, we can gain a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the current retail industry.

I

Although Pang Donglai's scale is not as large as MINISO's, it can be considered a benchmark enterprise in China's local retail industry.

Pang Donglai's success is not due to capital and traffic 红利 like MINISO but stems from its comprehensive transformation of the retail industry, offering consumers a completely different experience.

Unlike Pang Donglai, MINISO has always exhibited a development model dominated by scale and efficiency.

Whether it's the rapid expansion of MINISO stores or its continuous fundraising, it's clear that MINISO has adopted a capital-driven approach to scale development.

From a classical perspective of scale and efficiency, MINISO is undoubtedly successful.

However, if it merely focuses on capital and scale, MINISO may only become a benchmark for capital operations rather than the retail industry.

MINISO's acquisition of Yonghui Superstores once again showcases Ye Guofu's bold moves in capital operations.

Although Ye Guofu has always claimed to trust his judgment on the retail industry and its direction, if he relies solely on capital operations to transform the industry, acquiring Yonghui Superstores may not mark the beginning of a new peak for MINISO but could instead lead to its downfall.

Pang Donglai's decision to withdraw after MINISO's acquisition of Yonghui Superstores reflects its recognition of the problems and drawbacks of Ye Guofu's capital-driven development model.

Ultimately, if MINISO only pursues scale and relies on capital to address its shortcomings without truly focusing on the retail industry itself, such an approach may bring short-term benefits but is unsustainable in the long run.

The fundamental contradiction between Pang Donglai's and MINISO's development models is the key reason for Pang Donglai's withdrawal after MINISO's acquisition of Yonghui Superstores.

II

In fact, Ye Guofu chose to acquire Yonghui Superstores at this moment not only because of its relatively low price but also because he saw Pang Donglai's success in revamping Yonghui Superstores.

According to Ye Guofu's plan, Pang Donglai was not just revamping one Yonghui Superstore but nearly 1,000 stores.

If this logic held, it would have been a great deal for Ye Guofu.

However, from Pang Donglai's perspective, this was not a good thing.

Imagine if Pang Donglai revamped nearly 1,000 Yonghui Superstores—would it still be Pang Donglai?

Clearly not.

After revamping so many stores, Pang Donglai would no longer be itself but would become synonymous with Yonghui Superstores.

If Pang Donglai loses its uniqueness, especially its ability to serve its own customers, it will not only cease to exist but also drag the revamped Yonghui Superstores back into 困境。

The 矛盾 between Pang Donglai's uniqueness and Yonghui Superstores' mass-market scale is the key reason for Pang Donglai's withdrawal after Ye Guofu's acquisition.

If Ye Guofu's logic were followed, Pang Donglai wouldn't need to assist Yonghui Superstores—it could expand rapidly like MINISO through capital operations.

But if that happened, would Pang Donglai still be Pang Donglai?

Clearly, it would no longer be.

When the 矛盾 between Pang Donglai's uniqueness and Yonghui Superstores' scale became irreconcilable, especially when Pang Donglai refused to become a 'scapegoat' for Ye Guofu's scale-driven model, it chose to retreat to its comfort zone.

For Ye Guofu, his 如意算盘 has once again failed.

Although he acquired nearly 1,000 Yonghui Superstores for 6.3 billion yuan, reviving a chain that lost nearly 8 billion yuan in three years is a real challenge for him.

Now, with Pang Donglai withdrawing, it's time to test Ye Guofu's understanding and judgment of the retail industry.

If Ye Guofu cannot successfully revamp Yonghui Superstores like Pang Donglai did, this acquisition may not reignite 外界's imagination of MINISO but could instead drag it into deeper trouble.

III

In fact, whether for online retail players like e-commerce or offline 实体店 players, a new transformation is underway.

Regardless of the direction, one thing is certain: blindly 延续以往的发展模式 and pursuing capital and traffic 红利 is unsustainable.

This can be glimpsed from Pang Donglai's rise.

Pang Donglai's 火爆 is not due to having many stores, categories, or low prices like MINISO but because its products, services, and 体验建构 a 三位一体的全新模式。

If MINISO's model addresses the 痛点 of low prices and 品类齐全， Pang Donglai's 崛起 reflects a deeper and more comprehensive shift in user 需求。

For MINISO, it needs to do more than 延续资本化 and 规模化运作—it must deepen its 介入 into 上游产业端 and 供应端， improve its 服务水平， and better understand users and consumers.

Ultimately, MINISO must 回归到 retail 行业本身， not just act as a capital-driven 样板。

Only by 回归到 retail 行业本身 and abandoning its capital-driven mindset can MINISO overcome its 困境 and reignite 外界's imagination.

From this perspective, MINISO's acquisition of Yonghui Superstores at this moment may not be wise, as it 延续以往的发展模式 rather than 回归到 retail 行业本身。

If MINISO can revamp Yonghui Superstores like Pang Donglai did, especially by bringing tangible changes, this acquisition could succeed.

相反， if Ye Guofu only sees Yonghui Superstores' scale but fails to find a way to revamp it, treating this acquisition as a 延续 of his 商业模式， it will not only fail to 助力 MINISO but could also cause immeasurable harm.

Conclusion

After MINISO acquired Yonghui Superstores, Pang Donglai chose to withdraw.

Ye Guofu advances, Pang Donglai retreats.

This is 情理之中。

For Ye Guofu, this is a heavy blow.

The irreconcilable 矛盾 between MINISO's and Pang Donglai's development models led to this outcome.

With Pang Donglai's withdrawal, Ye Guofu's plan to scale the revamping of Yonghui Superstores has failed.

Without a revamping force like Pang Donglai, Yonghui Superstores may temporarily 缓解 its 困境 post-acquisition but will not 彻底摆脱 its problems in the long run.

For Ye Guofu, solving this issue is not just about Yonghui Superstores' future but also MINISO's.

If these problems remain unresolved, acquiring Yonghui Superstores may not mark a new 神话 for Ye Guofu but could become his 滑铁卢。$Miniso(MNSO.US)