Traditional supermarkets are seeing declining revenue and performance pressure. Many leading domestic supermarket chains have embarked on adjustment paths this year. Butbuy, Jiabaile, Yonghui, Heli, and other supermarkets have successively undergone Donglai-style adjustments. They have made different adjustments in six major areas: direct-operated bare prices, store layout, product structure, customer service, employee management, and corporate philosophy. Some stores have achieved relatively good results. Currently, for the retail side, the core factors that attract consumers to shop are: first, regular goods are cheap enough; second, product differentiation is attractive enough. Recently, I visited Yonghui in Zhengzhou and found that most consumers in the store were there for the introduced Pangdonglai private label products. Baked goods like the viral "big mooncake," deli items, DL juice, DL oatmeal, etc., were basically in short supply. Major supermarkets are "busy adjusting" and enjoying it, but RT-Mart, one of the top three in China, seems to be slow to act operationally, aside from frequent rumors of being "sold." Is that really the case? Is RT-Mart embarking on a private brand path? "A thousand stores with one face, a thousand stores with the same products" is the most prominent problem for Chinese retail enterprises today and one of the reasons for their increasingly difficult operations. Recently, during a market visit, I found that RT-Mart, which has been "quiet for a long time," is actively promoting and building its private brand "Dazhizhi Chaosheng (FP)." At the entrance of RT-Mart, there is a "uniform price" activity signboard, and below it, the display features the "Dazhizhi Chaosheng (FP)" series products. The "Dazhizhi Chaosheng (FP)" series is an important part of the uniform price activity, basically occupying the best display positions in every RT-Mart store. In addition to the "Dazhizhi Chaosheng (FP)" series, the "uniform price" activity also includes some branded standard products, ranging from daily necessities to snacks and beverages, with prices mainly at 1 yuan, 2.9 yuan, 4.9 yuan, 6.9 yuan, and 9.9 yuan. Under the banner of high quality and low price, it promotes the sale of some snack and general merchandise categories, establishing a certain consumer mindset. The "uniform price" activity did not start in recent years; it was launched by RT-Mart as early as 2005. The "Dazhizhi Chaosheng (FP)" series is RT-Mart's private brand and is also RT-Mart's most prominent product innovation this year. Previously, "Dazhizhi Chaosheng (FP)" was a relatively pure ODM approach, where members could redeem products through points accumulated from multiple purchases, as a membership benefit rather than a supplementary category to boost sales. Today's "Dazhizhi Chaosheng (FP)" is developed by RT-Mart's private brand development or procurement team, who personally station at factories and work with OEM factories to develop brand-new products from multiple dimensions such as raw materials, specifications, and quality. As the most popular OEM method in retail today, the main purpose is to highlight the quality-price ratio of products. In operations, these FP products enjoy better shelf placement, and some even occupy favorable aisle end-cap areas, making them core performance categories that directly boost sales. The "Dazhizhi Chaosheng" series includes: 3.9 yuan/pack (420mm*4 pieces) extra-long night sanitary pads; 9.9 yuan/bottle (500ml) shampoo; 8.5 yuan/bottle (1500ml) dishwashing liquid; 9.9 yuan/bottle (500ml) body wash; 9.9 yuan/bag (350g) scallion oil crackers. In October this year, Gaoxin Retail officially resumed trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In its announcement, it stated: "We will continue to build the core advantage of price competitiveness, strengthen fortress products, reshape our price image, rapidly promote the 'Dazhizhi Chaosheng' series as mind-share products, optimize product selection across price bands, and satisfy customers." In addition to vigorously developing and promoting private brands in standard products, RT-Mart has also frequently made a splash in the bakery category over the past year. In October last year, RT-Mart launched a bread that looked like a potato. This "unpretentious" potato bread went viral on social media at an unexpected speed, even sparking a new consumption trend where resellers marked up prices tenfold just to "dig for potatoes." Last year, the "potato bread" was a nationwide hit and sold out; this year, "Runfa Crispy Egg Tart" is also a bestseller, with strong promotion both online and offline. Within half a month of its launch, Runfa Crispy Egg Tart surpassed 1 million units sold. In the four months since its launch, monthly sales have consistently remained around 13 million yuan, and it is expected to become a single product with annual sales exceeding 100 million yuan. It is reported that before this egg tart was launched, RT-Mart conducted 15 rounds of internal testing. In the final round, almost everyone who tasted it said it was delicious, and the price is only 4 yuan each, far lower than market prices. Dazhizhi Chaosheng vs. ALDI's 'Super Value' RT-Mart is "copying" When visiting RT-Mart, the "Dazhizhi Chaosheng" series immediately reminded me not of Xuchang Pangdonglai, but of Aldi, the hard discount supermarket that has been making waves in China in recent years. Aldi is the undisputed pioneer of hard discounting. In foreign markets, it mainly focuses on private label standard products. In China, it's not hard to see that as a foreign enterprise, they have localized very successfully, such as "free eggs at opening," significantly increasing fresh produce, and greatly expanding SKU numbers. Recently, during a market visit, I toured an Aldi store in Shanghai and couldn't help but admire the dazzling array of private label products. After five years in the Chinese market, Aldi has been advancing at a very steady pace, finding quality factories and continuously localizing. So why does the Dazhizhi Chaosheng series remind me of Aldi? Because the packaging and specifications of RT-Mart's Chaosheng and Aldi's Super Value products are almost identical. Although retailers' private brand category choices have convergence, such as choosing products with categories but no brands or weak brands, many products in RT-Mart's Dazhizhi Chaosheng series can find counterparts at Aldi. Below are some products I'd like to compare for everyone. For retailers, having the capability to develop private brands is definitely one of the core competencies for future survival. Starting from the retail end and moving one step upstream can compress costs by at least 20%, which means stronger market competitiveness. By participating in the development and production of private brands, establishing a new supply chain system, and gaining a voice in the product circulation chain, they can bring super cost-effective products. The "Dazhizhi Chaosheng" series currently has not many products, but most of them basically overlap with "Aldi Super Value" in terms of category, price, and specifications. Is this "copying" approach really feasible? Phased Victory On November 12, Gaoxin Retail released its interim results for fiscal year 2025. Revenue was 34.708 billion yuan, an increase of 564 million yuan year-on-year, achieving a turnaround from loss to profit. In the financial report, Gaoxin Retail mentioned that the recovery of multiple operating indicators is mainly due to the company's low-price strategy and product strategy. To resist "stock market, low-price competition," RT-Mart launched "RT-Mart Must-Buy," "More for Same Price," "Everyday Cheap," and its private brand "Chaosheng" series, forming a low-price product matrix, enhancing consumer mind-share, bringing customer loyalty, and briefly achieving product differentiation, leading to a gradual recovery in offline revenue. Shen Hui, Executive Director and CEO of Gaoxin Retail, said: "Products and prices are the foundation of retail operations. Becoming the leader in the business district is our goal, and saving every penny for customers is our mission. We actively practice the values of caring for colleagues, serving customers, and striving for excellence, providing customers with a fresh, cheap, convenient, and comfortable shopping environment, and striving to achieve this fiscal year's operating targets." Currently, the traditional retail industry has formed a consensus: returning to the essence of retail is the key to breaking the deadlock. Business is hard, and this has been vividly demonstrated in traditional supermarkets in recent years. Various new formats are seizing market share, and store numbers continue to decline. The business methods they were once most proud of now put them in a difficult position. RT-Mart, Yonghui, Butbuy, and a batch of traditional retailers have all faced crises of varying degrees in the past year. This year, leading supermarkets have been busy adjusting, and some have seen slight improvements; RT-Mart's private brand is also gradually showing results. But whether it's supermarket adjustments or private brand development, we find that it's basically the result of borrowing "external forces" and "copying homework." For today's Chinese retail enterprises, developing quality private brands with substance, retaining consumers with value and stickiness, and forming unique category advantages is one way to return to the essence of retail. Therefore, we see private brands gradually becoming a key focus for major domestic retailers, with increasing numbers and sales proportions. "Knowing how to do it doesn't guarantee doing it well, but at least you're at the table." The development of private brands for Chinese retail enterprises is still in its early stages, and there is definitely a long road ahead.