Six major Hong Kong-listed restaurant groups netted 5 billion yuan last year: Haidilao leads the way, with a significant increase in delivery sales proportion

Ask AI · How will delivery business improvements affect restaurant companies’ strategic layout?

The performance of six major restaurant enterprises has diverged significantly: the leading companies are slowing down, newer entrants are sprinting, and the industry’s new picture shaped by adjustments from older brands has already taken shape.

Recently, among the six Hong Kong-listed Chinese restaurant groups—Xiao Cai Yuan (0999.HK), Green Tea Group (6831.HK), Meet Xiao Mian (2408.HK), Haidilao (6862.HK), CATERING CATERING (0520.HK), and Jiumaojiu (9922.HK)—all have released their 2025 annual performance announcements. According to The Paper (澎湃新闻), the six restaurant companies together generated nearly RMB 64 billion in revenue last year and achieved more than RMB 5 billion in net profit attributable to shareholders.

It should be noted that, compared with restaurant companies, the profitability of the new tea beverage group is more prominent. In the same period, five Hong Kong-listed new tea beverage leaders—Mixiue Group, Guming, Chadao Road, Ayi in Shanghai, and Nai Xue’s Tea—together surpassed RMB 60 billion in combined revenue, and net profit attributable to shareholders also surpassed the RMB 10 billion mark, with a clearly higher level of profitability than the Chinese restaurant segment.

Xiao Cai Yuan, Green Tea Group, and Meet Xiao Mian listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2024, May 2025, and December 2025, respectively. Green Tea Restaurant is positioned as a leisure restaurant that blends cuisines, Xiao Cai Yuan focuses on the new-style Huizhou cuisine, and Meet Xiao Mian is a Chinese fast-casual chain brand. Meanwhile, CATERING CATERING, Haidilao, and Jiumaojiu listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2014, September 2018, and January 2020, respectively, and all of them cover multiple different brands.

Against the backdrop of this, valuation logic differences for restaurant brands at different development stages in the capital market have become increasingly apparent. As of the Hong Kong stock market close on March 27, 2026, the share-price performance this year has diverged noticeably: Green Tea Group led with gains of over 20%, Meet Xiao Mian rose more than 6%, and Haidilao rose more than 2%; while Jiumaojiu fell by about 5%, Xiao Cai Yuan’s share price fell by more than 20%, and CATERING CATERING’s share price fell by more than 30%. Looking at a longer cycle since listing, Green Tea Group’s share price has grown by about 20%, Meet Xiao Mian’s has fallen by more than 30%, Xiao Cai Yuan’s has fallen by about 10%, and Haidilao’s has fallen by nearly 5%.

Performance divergence intensifies, with faster turnover between new and old brands

A横向 comparison of last year’s performance shows that across the six restaurant groups, revenue and profit results follow a layered pattern. The leading companies dominate profitability thanks to scale advantages but with slower growth; new brands achieve rapid growth supported by high cost-effectiveness and flexible expansion; and some long-established companies face challenges such as revenue decline and profit pressure. The competitive landscape in the Chinese restaurant industry has entered a stage of profound reshaping.

On the revenue side, Haidilao leads by a wide margin with revenue exceeding RMB 40 billion, accounting for more than 60% of the total revenue of the six companies, and it remains the absolute leader in the Chinese chain restaurant market. However, year-over-year revenue only increased by 1.1%—after scale expansion, the growth momentum has weakened.

Revenue for the three newly listed companies—Green Tea Group, Meet Xiao Mian, and Xiao Cai Yuan—grew positively. Among them, Meet Xiao Mian led the track with growth of over 40%; Green Tea Group’s revenue increased by more than 20% year over year; and Xiao Cai Yuan’s revenue growth was only 2.6%. In contrast, Jiumaojiu and CATERING CATERING saw revenue decline by nearly 14% and 20% respectively year over year, and the performance pressure on the long-established chain brand is evident.

On profitability, Haidilao accounted for nearly 80% of the total profit of the six companies with RMB 4.05 billion in net profit attributable to shareholders, but its net profit fell by nearly 14% year over year, indicating that its profit resilience has weakened. Xiao Cai Yuan, Green Tea, Meet Xiao Mian, and Jiumaojiu all made profits: Meet Xiao Mian’s net profit surged by more than 70% year over year; Green Tea Group’s growth rate was close to 40%; Xiao Cai Yuan’s growth rate exceeded 20%; and Jiumaojiu’s net profit increased slightly by 4%. CATERING CATERING recorded a loss of more than RMB 300 million; however, the loss narrowed by more than 20% year over year, showing signs of operational improvement.

Meet Xiao Mian stated in its financial report that last year’s improvement in profitability was mainly due to the expansion of its network of directly operated and franchised restaurants. The restaurants gradually expanded from their current locations in city centers to surrounding areas, which reduced rental costs and increased profit margins. Additional contribution came from Hong Kong restaurants with higher operating profit margins, and corporate headquarters costs were further diluted.

From a vertical perspective on company development trajectories, the “turnover between new and old” in the Chinese restaurant industry is accelerating.

According to Wind data, after Haidilao—a restaurant leader—went through a period of rapid growth, the impact of the pandemic, and a subsequent rebound, it has now entered a steady operating phase. From 2018 to 2019, it once maintained high growth rates of more than 50%; afterward it entered a post-pandemic recovery period. Revenue hit new highs in 2024 to 2025, but revenue growth slowed back to single digits; after scale expansion, growth momentum continued to decelerate.

Source: Wind

Jiumaojiu and CATERING CATERING have shifted from past large-scale expansion to a strategic shrinking cycle of “closing low-efficiency stores and optimizing the structure.” After a brief recovery in 2023 performance, revenue growth fell back into negative territory again in 2025. Among them, CATERING CATERING’s revenue declined by more than 20% year over year, and Jiumaojiu’s fell by more than 10%. In terms of profitability, Jiumaojiu’s net profit returned to a historical high in 2023, but it dropped rapidly in 2024; in 2025, its growth rate was only 4.29%. Meanwhile, CATERING CATERING continued to incur losses from 2021 to 2025, but the loss narrowed year over year in 2025.

Source: Wind

Source: Wind

Green Tea Group, Xiao Cai Yuan, Meet Xiao Mian, and other newer players have maintained strong expansion momentum since listing. Although their revenue and net profit growth rates have experienced some fluctuations, overall they have sustained rapid growth. Among them, Xiao Cai Yuan and Meet Xiao Mian’s revenue growth rates have gradually become more stable.

Source: Wind

Source: Wind

Source: Wind

Adjustment to pricing strategy: high-quality and good value becomes the industry’s core competitive direction

Last year, the trend toward consumer rationality continued to deepen, and high-quality and good value became the core demand of restaurant consumers. Multiple restaurant groups proactively lowered menu prices and optimized the structure of average spend per customer. Replacing price advantages for customer traffic and market share has become a common strategy across the industry.

In the second half of last year, Xiao Cai Yuan proactively adjusted menu prices, driving dine-in average spending per capita from RMB 59.2 down to RMB 56.1, but same-store sales revenue decreased by 9.4% year over year. Meet Xiao Mian also adopted a price-reduction strategy: for directly operated and franchised restaurant orders, average spend per order fell from RMB 32.1 and RMB 31.8 to RMB 29.9 and RMB 28.8, respectively, driving same-store sales revenue to grow by 1% year over year; the growth rate in the same period last year was -4.2%.

Source: Xiao Cai Yuan’s financial report

Source: Meet Xiao Mian’s financial report

For Haidilao, the restaurant chain’s average spend per customer was RMB 97.7 last year, compared with RMB 97.5 in the same period the year before. Over the full year, it served more than 384 million customer visits, down 7.5% year over year. The table turnover rate fell from 4.1 times/day to 3.9 times/day.

CATERING Group’s brands showed divergent adjustment in average spend per customer: CATERING CATERING restaurants’ average spend per customer decreased from RMB 54.8 to RMB 51.5, while COU COU restaurants’ average spend per customer increased from RMB 123.5 to RMB 148.8. The two brands focus respectively on the mass fast-food and mid-to-high-end hotpot segments. Jiumaojiu Group’s brands such as Tai Er, Jiumaojiu, Lai Meili, and Shanwai Mian saw a slight increase in average customer spend. Regarding menu pricing, the financial report indicated that Jiumaojiu Group lowered menu bundle combinations and the pricing of food items for its Song Hotpot brand.

Source: Jiumaojiu’s financial report

Store expansion and contraction occur in parallel, with store-level profitability becoming the core

Xiao Cai Yuan, Green Tea Group, and Meet Xiao Mian are still in the “golden period” of national expansion. In 2025, all three added net more than 100 stores, and their store opening pace was faster than in 2023 and 2024. As of the end of last year, the total number of stores for the three companies was above 800, 600, and 50 respectively. Their store counts increased year over year by more than 20%, more than 30%, and close to 40%.

Among them, Xiao Cai Yuan and Green Tea use a pure directly operated model, while Meet Xiao Mian’s directly operated stores account for more than 80%. Green Tea Group’s financial report pointed out that the restaurant penetration density in each city is still relatively low compared with peers, and the company has considerable potential for future restaurant expansion. On overseas expansion, Green Tea added 14 overseas stores last year, including in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and others. Overseas revenue increased 16 times year over year last year.

As for Haidilao Group, last year it only added a net 15 Haidilao restaurants to reach 1,383 locations. Last year, 85 self-operated restaurants were voluntarily shut down because their operating performance did not meet expectations, or were relocated due to changes in commercial landmarks or facilities being old. It is understood that Haidilao Group started implementing the “Woodpecker” store shutdown plan in 2021, and at the right time, it contracted the group’s business expansion plans. According to an earlier announcement, if the average table turnover rate of a Haidilao store is lower than 4 times/day, the group will, in principle, not open new Haidilao stores on a large scale.

Jiumaojiu and CATERING Group have fully initiated strategic contraction, focusing on improving profitability at the store level. Last year, Jiumaojiu opened only 26 new restaurants and closed 189 low-efficiency stores. Based on calculations by a reporter, Jiumaojiu globally reduced net by more than 160 stores in 2025, bringing the total number down to 644. Store numbers decreased by more than 20% year over year. CATERING Group opened 57 new restaurants and closed 109, resulting in a net decrease of its total stores to 905. The company focused on shutting down loss-making stores and those that do not fit a high-quality and good-value model.

Multiple restaurant companies have increased the share of delivery business

The delivery business is evolving from a supplementary channel for restaurant companies into a core growth engine.

According to a review by a reporter, Haidilao’s delivery business saw explosive growth. Last year, revenue reached RMB 2.658 billion, up 1.1 times year over year. The business share increased from 2.9% to 6.1%. This was driven by the rapid growth of the “rice companion dishes” business and the company’s nationwide setup of more than 1,200 delivery service outlets. Delivery has become an important pillar of revenue growth for Haidilao Group. The financial report said it will continuously optimize the delivery business operating mechanism, develop new products that better fit delivery scenarios, and improve delivery business profit margins. It will also support other brands under the “Red Pomegranate Plan” to try the delivery business.

Green Tea Group, Meet Xiao Mian, and others also proactively increased investment in delivery business, achieving simultaneous growth in revenue and share. Green Tea Group’s delivery revenue increased by more than 60% year over year to RMB 1.204 billion, with its share rising from 18.8% to 25.3%. Meet Xiao Mian’s delivery revenue doubled year over year; its share rose from 15.6% to 23.3%. By expanding consumer scenarios through delivery, it compensates for fluctuations in dine-in customer traffic.

In contrast, last year Xiao Cai Yuan maintained a stable growth pace in delivery. Xiao Cai Yuan’s delivery revenue increased 3% year over year to RMB 2.065 billion, accounting for nearly 40%. Delivery-related service expenses’ share slightly decreased from 6.8% to 6.7%. Xiao Cai Yuan’s financial report said that in the second half of last year, the company optimized its delivery business strategy and focused on dine-in experience. In August last year, the management of Xiao Cai Yuan revealed that the delivery wars once affected the focus of management staff inside the stores; since August last year, it stopped participating in any discounts on three platforms.

Due to store shrinkage, Jiumaojiu’s delivery revenue decreased 4% year over year to RMB 1.002 billion, but the delivery share passively increased from 17.2% to 19.1%, becoming an important buffer against a decline in offline customer traffic. Meanwhile, CATERING Group focuses on upgrading delivery products and plans to make improving average order value and repurchase rates the core, refining the delivery business’s profit model.

Haidilao net reduced nearly 10,000 employees last year; labor efficiency management becomes the key to competition

Changes in employee numbers are closely linked to companies’ operating strategies, further highlighting the pattern of divergence.

According to a reporter’s review, for growth-oriented brands such as Meet Xiao Mian, Green Tea Group, and Xiao Cai Yuan, they continued to increase manpower investment alongside store expansion. Meet Xiao Mian’s employee costs increased by more than 30% year over year to RMB 356 million, and Green Tea Group’s increased by more than 20% to RMB 1.243 billion. Xiao Cai Yuan’s full-time employees increased by 12.51% year over year to 13.5 thousand, but relying on improvements in store management efficiency, the total employee cost slightly decreased by 3.4% year over year to RMB 1.373 billion, achieving simultaneous advancement of scale expansion and labor efficiency improvement.

For companies entering an adjustment period, such as Haidilao, CATERING Group, and Jiumaojiu, they optimized their labor structure, reduced costs, and further improved overall operational efficiency. Haidilao’s employee headcount decreased 8% year over year to 125.6 thousand, with a net reduction of more than 11,500 employees last year. CATERING Group’s employee headcount fell by more than 30% year over year to 16.8 thousand, and employee costs decreased 18.2% year over year to RMB 1.318 billion. Jiumaojiu’s employee count net decreased by 4,218 to 16,517, down by more than 20% year over year; employee costs decreased 11.7% year over year. Through personnel streamlining and structure optimization, the companies improved overall operational efficiency.

Under competition with an existing customer base, what “playbooks” will restaurant companies use in the future?

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, last year national catering revenue was about RMB 5.8 trillion, up 3.2%. Multiple catering financial reports also mentioned that last year the industry entered a period of mild recovery; consumer rationality dominated the market; high-quality and good value became the core direction. As the industry shifted from incremental expansion to competition for existing demand, inefficient supply was gradually cleared out, and industry concentration continued to increase.

According to a reporter’s review, facing the new cycle, the six restaurant companies further clarified their strategic directions, focusing on improving store-level profitability, advancing internationalization, exploring new retail, and acquiring and integrating brands, to drive high-quality development.

This year, Xiao Cai Yuan plans to steadily advance its internationalization, with the first stage using Hong Kong, China as its first stop for going overseas. It will also continue exploring diversified operations and proactively look for opportunities in new retail formats, enriching its revenue structure to achieve coordinated development across multiple tracks. Green Tea also said it will steadily advance its network expansion strategy, deepen penetration in existing markets, explore emerging potential markets, and promote internationalization—starting with Southeast Asia and expanding to nearby overseas markets. In addition, Green Tea Group will actively seek and acquire high-quality potential targets, integrate industry resources, and enrich its brand portfolio and consumption scenarios.

Meet Xiao Mian will continue to accelerate store openings, with an expected 150 to 180 restaurants to open this year. As of February 28 this year, since the end of last year it opened 20 new restaurants, and 76 new restaurants are in pre-opening preparation, which may allow it to achieve its annual opening target this year.

Haidilao’s financial report stated that the group will continue to improve the dining experience of consumers and meet their personalized needs; it will fully promote the “Red Pomegranate Plan” and continue implementing its diversified operating strategy. In addition, the financial report mentioned that it will strategically seek to acquire high-quality assets to further enrich catering formats and its customer base.

Jiumaojiu stated that, looking ahead, after conducting a comprehensive re-evaluation of the group’s financial performance, financial position, and future strategic development plans, the board of directors intends to maintain a dividend payout ratio of no less than 40% of annual profit attributable to equity shareholders. CATERING CATERING Group stated that it will continue to optimize its multi-brand matrix. Improving store-level profitability and capital return will be its top priorities. At the same time, it will carefully refine the commercial model of innovative formats and, with a sensitive posture, prudently capture new growth dividends. Regarding store opening strategy, the group plans to open no fewer than 100 restaurants this year, with an operational target of achieving a seat-turnover rate of three times or more. The COU COU brand will坚持 being cautious about opening new stores and will not expand blindly.