On the evening of March 26, Shenzhen Pagoda Industrial (Group) Corporation Limited [3], one of China’s biggest fruit retailers, released its annual results for 2025 [4]. The company reported a revenue of 8.17 billion Chinese yuan ($1.19 billion) last year, representing a 20.4% year-on-year decrease. The loss attributable to the company’s owners was 317 million yuan ($46.1 million), marking a 17.8% reduction compared with the previous year. The gross profit margin stood at 7.3%, slightly down from 7.4% in 2024.

The report reveals that the number of franchised stores totaled 4,460 in 2025, down from 5,116 in the previous year, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of 12.8%. Of these, the proportion of franchised stores managed by the group increased further to 81.4%. Including a small number of self-operated stores, the total number of stores last year reached 4,468, representing a 12.9% year-on-year decline.

Over 98% of Pagoda’s revenue was generated from the sale of fruits and other food products, with the remainder coming from franchise fees, franchise-related income, membership fees and other sources. Its offline stores are predominantly operated under a franchise model, including both group-managed and entrusted-managed franchises.

Pagoda stated that there had been concerns in the market about a large-scale store closure in the first half of 2025. However, with the completion of store network optimization in the first half of the year, the company’s wave of store closures [5] has officially ended. In the second half of the year, the company resumed its expansion efforts, with a net increase of 82 stores, bringing the total to 4,468 stores and marking a return to a growth track.

In terms of store distribution, the proportion of stores in first-tier cities rose to 25.5%, while the proportion in second-tier cities decreased to 35.8%. Meanwhile, the share of stores in third-tier and lower-tier cities increased to 38.7%.

According to the 2025 China Fruits Industry White Paper [6] recently issued by Frost & Sullivan, third-tier and lower-tier cities accounted for over 36% of China’s fruit market transaction value, with growth rates significantly outpacing those in first- and second-tier cities. As the consumption markets in first-tier and new first-tier cities mature and become saturated, growth has slowed. By contrast, second-tier and lower-tier cities, with their lower consumption bases, offer greater potential for growth and market expansion in the future.

Image: Pagoda

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article [7].