Luwang February 2Daily News (Reporter Wang Juan).Recently, RT-Mart has closed stores in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, Deyang, Sichuan, Zhuzhou, Hunan and other places. What are the reasons for RT-Mart to close stores in many places? What are the new trends in the development of Shandong region this year? Luwang reporters conducted interviews and investigations.
Respond to many placesoffShop:
Upgrade M store closure renovation and property reasons
It is reported that Lin Xiaohai, CEO of Sun Art Retail, has publicly stated many times that "multi-format omni-channel" is the company's long-term development strategy, and the accelerated opening of RT-Mart Super and M member stores, which undertake the second growth curve, does not mean the contraction of RT-Mart, on the contrary, RT-Mart is still opening more new stores nationwide.
Regarding the report that RT-Mart closed stores in many cities, the reporter contacted RT-Mart. The relevant person in charge of RT-Mart said that there are two main reasons for the closure of the store, one is to upgrade the M store to temporarily close for renovation, and the other is the property reason.
Shandong is the core region
In the fiscal year, it will open new stores in Jinan, Qingdao and Zibo
Regarding the development strategy of Shandong, the relevant person in charge of RT-Mart said that Shandong is the core area of RT-Mart, and the key cities are Jinan and Qingdao. The reporter saw on the official website of RT-Mart that RT-Mart currently has a total of 44 stores in Shandong Province, and opened the first RT-Mart super format store in Jinan in June last year, and nine offline stores in Jinan are currently operating normally.
In addition, Luwang reporters learned from interviews that in fiscal year 2025, Sun Art Retail is expected to open 16 stores across the country, including Jinan, Qingdao and Zibo in Shandong, including RT-Mart and RT-Mart Super. At the same time, it will be completed in 90 RT-Mart stores across the country, such as Rizhao, Jining, Laiwu and Tai'an0 refactoring.
Focus on developmentA community fresh supermarket in the super format
Shandong'sM member storeSite selection was already underway last year
In the face of changes in the market environment and consumer purchasing habits, the operation of traditional supermarkets has been challenged in recent years. In addition to RT-Mart, the number of offline stores such as Carrefour, Yonghui and other chain supermarkets has decreased. As of June 30, 2023, the number of Carrefour self-operated stores was 41, and 106 stores were closed in half a year. In contrast, Sam's Club stores and supermarkets are developing well. According to Walmart's latest financial report, net sales in the international market in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 were $27.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13%. As a new format of RT-Mart, the M Club will also have a new layout in Shandong in the future.
The relevant person in charge of RT-Mart told the Luwang reporter that the focus of the brand's development this year is still the community fresh supermarket in the super format. In addition, the new format M Club opened 5 stores in the new fiscal year, and these M Club stores are all renovated and upgraded on the basis of RT-Mart stores. The M Club in Shandong was already selecting a site last year, and the project is currently being actively promoted.