China Top Ten Supermarket Brands

Top 10 China supermarkets based on sales for 2019

Obviously it varies hugely from product sector to product sector and whether you are a B2B or B2C business but one of the more popular ways of entry into China is via Supermarkets. To that end we are often asked which is the biggest, the best, the most upmarket,

the most popular the most – whatever! And equally obviously, the answer is not so cut and dried. Again, let’s trudge out our old maxim; China is not one huge 1 billion people market. [ maybe I should get that tattooed on my body somewhere?]

So as a sort of very crude introduction, we offer the following from China Daily as a guide to the top supermarkets in China- as of 2019. A couple of caveats or points worth noting. The top players, over 90 billion yuan in sales, are not necessarily found all over China. As an example Vanguard, a HK brand, can be found in Beijing but not as easily as say Wumart or YH. So again, it depends on your brand, your marketing strategy and where you intend to focus.

In other words ABC brand of supermarket – or anything – might be in the bottom 5 million in China, but in the province you are targeting, it is #1 by a country mile.

Don’t expect to see much change in the leaderboard for 2020, its been, more or less predicable for a few years now. However, having said that, keep an eye out for Alibaba’s Fresh Hippo or Hema stores and Carrefour. Why is that?

Well, beginning with Hema, currently they have just 50 stores, centred in or around Shanghai. And as the link shows, they have made a very strong showing in 2019. Come end of September 2020 they are expecting to double that – 50 in Beijing, 50 in Hangzhou.
The once was French brand; Carrefour was sold to China Electrical Appliance Retail giant; Suning and is now slowly re branding. Which may explain their drop of 8.3%.

And of course, it goes without saying Supermarkets are NOT the only or even first choice game in town when it comes to China market entry gateway for F&B products.
As we outlined in this article re plant based meat in China.

Courtesy of China Daily:

CR Vanguard topped supermarket brands in China with sales of 95.1 billion yuan ($13.5 billion) in 2019, while Alibaba-owned retailer Freshhema witnessed the biggest jump in sales at 185.7 percent, according to the top 100 supermarket brands list released by the China Chain Store and Franchise Association on June 30.

The top 100 supermarket brands in China registered total sales of 979.2 billion yuan last year, up 4.1 percent on a yearly basis and comprising 18.1 percent of total retail food sales for the whole year. Total sales of the top 10 winners amounted to 580.9 billion yuan, taking up 59.3 percent of sales among the top 100 brands

Now, let’s take a look at the top 10 supermarket brands in sales in China last year.

If you have a question re your brand in China and wondering if we might be able to help- maybe we can. We began as a small family firm in 2003, we are still a small family firm. Just a bit wiser.

Introducing Everlyne YU

China Website Baidu Optimisation

In 2003 Everlyne Yu co-founded WPBeijing Marketing Studio with Englishman Peter Bic, now known as Bic Brands.

She began Uengager, as a SaaS MarTech company focused on customer engagement in 2017.

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“I love to talk about and help people understand the amazing ways MarTech and SaaS can work to strengthen your business engagement with Chinese consumers.
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Everlyne is also a key note speaker, lecturer and KOL on MarTech in China. She is CEO of Uengager, business development officer for Bicyu.

Everlyne hs been privileged to work with a variety of international organisations, from VW, Cushman Wakefield, Sodexo, Bristol Myers Squibb to local Chinese firms such as Midea, and OK Order.

If you’re looking for guidance, tips, advice on any aspect of starting or growing a business in China or training, coaching your existing China marketing team for excellence, be sure to check out Uengager. Home page and base for Everlyne Yu. Read her short bio – opposite left – or contact her direct – below – for a free, heart to heart chat.