Image credit: Bamboo Works
Key Takeaways:
Qdama operated nearly 3,000 community-based stores as of last September, as the company gears up for a Hong Kong IPO
The community-based grocer incurred a net loss of nearly 290 million yuan in the first nine months of last year, though it was profitable excluding a one-time paper loss
Its name may not resonate with foreigners, but Qdama is a household staple to many in China. Its catchy tag line of "no yesterday's meat" is on everyone's lips. In just 14 years, the operator of a community-based grocery chain has expanded to nearly 3,000 stores nationwide with annual revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion). Now, its parent, Qdama International Holding Ltd., is aiming to make the name a staple in the foreign investment community with its application for a Hong Kong IPO filed last week.
Though its name means "Auntie Qian," the chain wasn't founded by someone of that surname, nor was it started by a woman. Founder Feng Jisheng started out as a butcher running a pork stall in 2012 in the southern city of Dongguan not far from Hong Kong. Feng was not only sharp with his butcher's knife, but also possessed an equally sharp business acumen. He recognized that increasingly affluent Chinese were demanding higher-quality meat, leading him to pioneer his concept of "no yesterday's meat" to emphasize the freshness of his products.
Feng opened his first Qdama community-based store in Shenzhen in 2013, starting out in traditional wet markets before moving his shops into residential areas. He used a "Discount + Daily Clearance" model, which emphasizes freshness by progressively marking down items throughout the day, before giving away unsold goods after midnight.
Mirroring many Chinese retail and food and beverage chains, Qdama leveraged its brand recognition to scale rapidly through franchising, turbocharged by multiple rounds of capital raising. That allowed it to exponentially boost its store count in relatively short order.
Lackluster financials
Despite its strong reputation, Qdama's financial performance is far less compelling. According to its filing, the ...
