Today, Happy Monkey's second store, Meida Liyang Store in Gongshu District, Hangzhou, opened its doors. Just 13 days after the first store's opening, Happy Monkey has opened another one. It's clear that Meituan has made thorough preparations for this offline retail exploration. I visited the opening of the new Hangzhou store today. The store is located near Shentangqiao Metro Station in Gongshu District, about 500 meters from the exit. The surrounding area is densely populated with residential communities, and there's a bus stop right at the entrance—an excellent location. Compared to the first store, the second one is noticeably larger, at around 800-900 square meters. I arrived at 9:30 in the morning, and even on a weekday, the store was bustling with people. Like many store openings, a large crowd of elderly people had gathered outside Happy Monkey, queuing for free eggs. The entrance area features bakery and prepared foods. Judging by the shelf displays and the crowd's behavior, most consumers weren't particularly drawn to Happy Monkey's 3R (ready-to-eat, ready-to-cook, ready-to-heat) products. Further inside is the fresh produce section. As the primary traffic driver, the quality and price of fresh produce often directly influence consumers' trust in the store and their repurchase rate. In simple terms, if the store only sold standard packaged goods, most consumers wouldn't be impressed. "This box of plums has been opened, so we normally wouldn't sell it. If you'd like it, we can offer it at half price," a Happy Monkey employee told a customer. Happy Monkey's fresh produce, like Aldi's and Chaoboxuan NB (Hema NB), is pre-packaged in fixed quantities. For community stores, fixed packaging greatly helps manage waste and operations. Further in are the meat section, deli and cold-storage areas, and some seasoning sections. Most shoppers lingered around the refrigerated meat counters. The left side of the store is the standard goods area, with snacks, beverages, grains and oils, instant foods, household cleaning products, and a small selection of personal care items. Happy Monkey advertises "good products, not expensive." Looking at prices—6 yuan for a 900ml bottle of Nongfu Spring's Oriental Leaf tea, 5.9 yuan for a Master Kong instant noodle bowl—Happy Monkey does seem to achieve "not expensive," but it doesn't reach the rock-bottom prices of hard discount stores. Additionally, the store features Happy Monkey and Xiaoxiang private-label products, as well as co-developed items between brands and Xiaoxiang, which are a highlight. Although their share isn't very high, they serve as a finishing touch. Building on Xiaoxiang Supermarket's private-label development, Happy Monkey has integrated these products into its stores. If online is Xiaoxiang's core territory, Happy Monkey can serve as an excellent offline carrier and advertisement. Today, whether in traditional supermarkets or community discount stores, private labels are increasingly becoming the core products on shelves, driving major revenue. Therefore, how to make private labels a hit is becoming a key task for every retail brand. Today, Meituan's biggest confidence in Happy Monkey undoubtedly comes from its vast platform ecosystem. Its business model maximizes synergies. First is supply chain capability. Early community group-buying "Meituan Select" and the now-popular "Xiaoxiang Supermarket" have undoubtedly provided ample support for Meituan's offline retail re-entry. Thus, this exploration of hard discount Happy Monkey is not starting from scratch in building a supply chain. At the same time, Meituan emphasizes direct sourcing from origins, factory customization, and aggressive development of private-label products to improve gross margins and price competitiveness. So it's not hard to see that Happy Monkey's core strategy is "affordable products + private labels," gradually building an advantage by increasing the share of private-label products. However, many consumers who have ordered from Xiaoxiang will notice that today's Xiaoxiang product selection and quality control are more about stability than being impressive. Community discount stores are a business highly dependent on supply chain, with fewer SKUs and higher turnover requirements. Every product must be a hit and low-priced. Hema's entire supplier system took 10 years to build its current capability. If Happy Monkey wants to compete with Aldi and Chaoboxuan in the future, how to create store bestsellers while ensuring product quality and capturing consumer mindshare—these are actions Meituan needs to carefully consider. Additionally, Meituan needs to "diligently practice" offline store management. Whether it's product display, inventory management, etc., professional operational capabilities are required. A simple example: I observed in the store that most stocking staff used printed display diagrams to place items one by one. Many price tags were also mismatched, leaving consumers confused. Today's Happy Monkey can leverage Meituan's publicity to make a big splash, but this model poses no threat to Chaoboxuan or Aldi. Therefore, Happy Monkey undoubtedly needs to iterate quickly. Of course, Meituan's core advantages lie in its strong traffic base and efficient delivery network. But offline retail cannot survive solely on online strength. How to integrate online and offline and establish a more complete model is also a major test for Happy Monkey. As a format that has truly risen in the past two years, community discount stores have undoubtedly shown many players new opportunities, and more players are entering. Whether it's top retailers like Walmart and Wumart, or big tech companies like Meituan, all are betting on this track. This new consumer demand for both low prices and quality is vastly different from traditional discount stores. Product strength and brand power are the core of community discount supermarkets. This will be a real tug-of-war, and it will take a long time to see who truly stands out in this "season."