Yu Donglai announces official retirement, having led Pang Donglai for nearly 30 years

On February 11, Founder Yu Donglai of Pangdonglai Trading Group suddenly announced, “After the Lunar New Year, I will officially retire and become a group advisor. Future work will be led by the Pangdonglai Decision-Making Committee.” With this, the previously multiple times expressed intention to delegate authority, “China’s retail industry benchmark figure,” finally officially handed over and chose to step back into the background.

Public information shows that Yu Donglai was born in 1966 in Dengzhuang Township, Xuchang, Henan, and is currently 60 years old.

Looking at his personal background, he started working at Xuchang Second Rubber Factory in 1984, but was forced to lay off and start his own business after the factory closed.

In 1995, he founded the predecessor of Pangdonglai—Wangyuelou Pangzi Store, which mainly sold tobacco, alcohol, and candies, while also offering daily miscellaneous goods. In 1997, he established “Pangdonglai Tobacco and Alcohol Co., Ltd.” based on that store, which was later changed in 2002 to “Xuchang Pangdonglai Trading Group Co., Ltd.”

After nearly 30 years of effort, Pangdonglai has grown from a street-side small shop into a regional retail leader. By the end of 2025, the group will have 13 stores in Xuchang and Xinxiang, with a total business area of 310,000 square meters and more than 10,000 employees.

In fact, although Yu Donglai previously expressed a desire to slow down the group’s growth and keep the 2025 sales target within 20 billion yuan during the China Supermarket Week event hosted by Lian Shang Wang in March 2025, the actual performance still exceeded expectations.

Data shows that in 2025, Pangdonglai Group achieved a total sales of 23.531 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.71% (2024: 16.964 billion yuan), surpassing the planned target by about 3.531 billion yuan.

In terms of business segments, the supermarket format remains the main force, contributing 12.643 billion yuan in sales, accounting for 53.7%. The jewelry and tea categories saw significant growth, with 2.451 billion yuan and 1.063 billion yuan respectively, together accounting for over 20% of revenue.

Regarding store performance, Times Square Store led with 6 billion yuan in sales, followed by Angel City Store and “Xinxiang Da Pang.” Notably, the third Pangdonglai store in Xinxiang, which opened less than 10 days ago, achieved a cumulative sales of 92.4029 million yuan in 2025, with daily sales exceeding 10 million yuan.

In recent years, apart from “Panggai” Yonghui Supermarket (601933.SH), Yu Donglai’s personal health has also attracted considerable attention. In June 2024, a video in which he described his health condition went viral online. In the video, he said he was “in the pre-stage of stomach cancer” and that “except for the stomach, no organ on his body is healthy; his lungs, liver, and colon have all been sentenced to ‘death’.” The video was later confirmed to have been recorded in 2022, and Yu Donglai responded, “Regarding my health, there are no issues now. Thank you all for your concern.”

According to an insider close to Pangdonglai, Blue Whale News learned that Yu Donglai had health issues several years ago but has been stable in recent years and continues to participate in corporate support and restructuring work.

In August 2025, Yu Donglai also posted a post-surgery recovery video on his personal social media, showing a location in Guangdong. In the video, he danced with his wife, with the caption “Sixth day after surgery, thanks to friends, thanks to doctors and nurses.”

In fact, Yu Donglai had long prepared for his retirement. In June 2023, he clearly stated at the Lian Shang Wang conference, “80% of the company’s operations have already been handed over,” focusing on promoting lifestyle concepts. He emphasized, “This is letting go, not giving up,” and further proposed a systematic handover plan: in the future, the chairman and general manager of Pangdonglai must retire upon turning 50, and managers of grassroots branches must pass the baton before age 45.

In March 2025, during the Yonghui Supermarket supplier conference, Yu Donglai again mentioned his retirement plans. He joked that his biggest dream is still to play: “After retirement, I want to play cards on the roadside, win a soda, happily go home at night, and enjoy a sweet retirement life. Because I love to play, I spend 60% to 80% of my time playing.”