Country Garden Property Management Takes Over Guicheng Wanda, Will October Bring a Major Transformation?

Listing | Zhongfang.com

Review | Li Xiaoyan

Since the beginning of 2026, the competitive landscape in the real estate industry has continued to deepen. A new move by Country Garden Commercial Management has attracted significant market attention—Foshan Nanhai District Guicheng Wanda Plaza has officially been taken over and operated by Country Garden Commercial Management. The project is scheduled to complete upgrades in October and will reappear under the new name “Gui Cheng·Phoenix Gathering.” This takeover adopts a light-asset model, with the owner investing tens of millions of yuan in upgrades, while Country Garden Commercial Management provides renovation plans and is responsible for leasing and operations. This is not only a key step in the company’s market expansion but also seen as an important signal of the Yang family’s push to revive operations and shift toward normal management.

As a major commercial hub in the core area of Guangzhou-Foshan, Foshan Gui Cheng·Phoenix Gathering has a total construction area of approximately 116,000 square meters. After more than ten years of operation and multiple ownership transfers, it previously faced issues such as scattered tenant layout, low brand hierarchy, and limited scene diversity. After Country Garden Commercial Management took over, the project will undergo a comprehensive upgrade centered on the theme of “a gathering place for new-generation family joy.” Hardware upgrades include exterior lighting, interior decorations, a food street on the basement level, and public areas on each floor, along with added convenient facilities like mother-and-baby rooms and pet-friendly spaces. In terms of tenant mix, the second floor will feature a main brand street, the third floor will host a children’s theme park and quality education clusters, and the fifth floor will include sports experiences and versatile pop-up spaces. The outdoor square will be planned as an open children’s playground and night market zone, precisely matching the needs of surrounding families within a 1.5-kilometer radius.

This cooperation adopts a “owner investment + professional operation” light-asset mechanism, effectively reducing the heavy asset burden on Country Garden Commercial Management and aligning with the industry’s core trend of shifting from incremental development to stock operation. Relying on its mature commercial operation system and brand output capabilities, the project is expected to quickly activate regional commercial vitality and provide better consumption scenarios for 35 surrounding communities and the Qian Deng Lake area. Data shows that by 2025, Country Garden Commercial Management had managed a total area of 5.6 million square meters, with annual foot traffic exceeding 100 million visitors. Its projects cover key urban clusters such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta. The Foshan project will further strengthen its commercial footprint in South China and accumulate practical experience in expanding the light-asset model.

2026 has been clearly defined by Country Garden as the “year to finalize delivery,” marking a critical transition from ensuring project completion to normal operation. In recent years, Country Garden has experienced debt issues but achieved key progress through three years of efforts: from 2023 to 2025, nearly 1.15 million homes were delivered, with nearly 170,000 units delivered in 2025 alone, maintaining industry leadership; domestic and international debt restructuring was largely completed by December 2025, reducing debt by nearly 90 billion yuan, with new debt financing costs sharply lowered to 1%-2.5%, easing operational burdens.

On the market front, data indicates signs of recovery. In 2025, the company achieved contractual sales of 33.01 billion yuan, with a significant narrowing of decline in the first two months of 2026—contractual sales of 4.44 billion yuan, down only 2.6% year-on-year, with a sales area of 570,000 square meters, down 1.7%. Market rankings also improved, with CRIC ranking it 18th nationwide in sales in 2025, rising to 15th in the first two months of 2026. Market confidence is gradually restoring. The large-scale project acquisitions by Country Garden Commercial Management reflect a recovery in operational capacity—from focusing on project delivery to actively expanding commercial operations—indicating improved cash flow and operational revival.

Regarding rumors of a “large-scale recall of veteran staff,” Country Garden responded that it is a routine revision of the “Resigned Personnel Rehire Management Measures,” not a new policy. Industry experts generally believe that personnel system optimization is a systematic arrangement to match the company’s operational recovery pace and new project development needs, creating synergy with business expansion and serving as an important sign of management warming.

Despite ongoing recovery, Country Garden Commercial Management remains cautious and steady in its expansion strategy. In project acquisition, it will continue strengthening cooperation with local governments and platform companies, focusing on core urban clusters like Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta, prioritizing regions with strong consumption potential. In business expansion, it will maintain its light-asset approach, using a “owner investment + professional operation” partnership model to reduce risks and improve efficiency. Data shows that since 2024, the company has added management for 231,000 square meters of commercial space and over 2,400 units of long-term rental apartments under the “Bajia Apartments” brand, nearing 30,000 units under management, balancing expansion with risk control.

From an industry perspective, commercial real estate has become a core track for corporate transformation. Companies like China Resources Land and Longfor have long seen their operating businesses as main profit drivers, while Hong Kong-based commercial real estate giants continue to expand domestically, intensifying industry competition. As a latecomer, Country Garden Commercial Management’s takeover of Foshan Gui Cheng is both a test of its operational capacity and an important opportunity to enter the stock operation track. By precisely positioning family consumption scenes, optimizing tenant mix, and upgrading hardware, the project is expected to become a benchmark case for the company’s light-asset model, building brand reputation and operational experience for future expansion.

However, the current expansion and recovery face multiple challenges. First, commercial real estate operations depend on continuous tenant recruitment and foot traffic cultivation. The Foshan Gui Cheng·Phoenix Gathering needs to complete brand renewal and tenant adjustments quickly, facing market competition and consumer demand pressures. Second, in the context of a stock era, regional commercial homogenization intensifies, and creating differentiated core competitiveness is an urgent issue. Third, the company’s overall recovery still requires time, with positive cash flow and profit margins to be steadily achieved.

At the same time, industry transformation also presents new opportunities. As residents’ consumption needs continue to upgrade, family and experiential consumption are becoming core growth points for commercial real estate. Country Garden Commercial Management’s targeted layout of family-friendly and pet-friendly scenes aligns with market trends. The ongoing promotion of the light-asset model can reduce capital occupation and amplify operational value, fitting the industry’s transformation direction. Leveraging the overall recovery of Country Garden Group’s operations, combined with the professional capabilities of its commercial sector, the company is poised to gradually establish a competitive advantage in the stock market.

The takeover and upgrade of Foshan Gui Cheng Wanda Plaza by Country Garden Commercial Management is a key implementation of its light-asset strategy and a direct reflection of its operational revival entering a practical stage. During this critical period of industry deep adjustment and transformation, Country Garden’s cautious and steady approach to expanding its commercial sector demonstrates confidence in its recovery and provides a new practical example for stock management in the industry. As the project reopens in October, its operational results will serve as an important benchmark for assessing the progress of Country Garden’s recovery. Moving forward, Country Garden Commercial Management needs to continue refining operational capabilities and optimizing project layouts to achieve steady growth in the commercial real estate stock sector, supporting the company’s full transition to normal operations.