Core Insights - The article highlights a significant wave of store closures across various sectors, particularly in the restaurant industry, indicating a potential shift in market dynamics and consumer preferences [3][4]. Industry Overview - The restaurant sector has seen the highest number of closures, with 27 restaurants shutting down, including 13 dessert shops, 4 bakery stores, 5 tea drink shops, and 2 coffee shops [3]. - Notable tea brands like Heytea, Nayuki, CoCo, and others have closed stores without disclosing reasons, suggesting possible strategic optimization [3]. - Seesaw has exited the Suzhou market after closing its last store there, reducing its total store count from 102 to 46 since January 2024, indicating a significant contraction [3]. Supermarket Sector - Four supermarket stores have also closed, including Sanjiang Supermarket and Ole, which is a premium supermarket under China Resources Vanguard [3][4]. - Despite the growing middle class in China, the overall market size for premium supermarkets remains limited, with the market size for supermarkets and hypermarkets at 3.09 trillion yuan in 2021, and premium supermarkets accounting for only 129.4 billion yuan, or 4.19% of the total [3]. Brand Strategy - China Resources Vanguard employs a multi-brand strategy to target different consumer segments, launching Ole in 2004 for high-end consumers, BLT in 2009 for mid-range products, and Wan Jia City in 2020 for the broader middle market [4]. - This strategy, while aiming for broad coverage, has led to resource dilution and internal competition, contrasting with industry norms where companies focus on a single brand per format [4]. Closure Trends - The closure trend shows a polarization among brands, with established brands like Xinxianghui and Sanjiang Supermarket closing due to lease expirations after over 10 years of operation, reflecting normal market cycles [4]. - Conversely, many new brands face survival challenges, with over one-third of closed brands operating for less than two years, highlighting the rapid rise and fall of niche or trendy brands in the current market environment [4].