---
title: "Purchasing Agents for Pangdonglai: Some Have Made Millions"
description: "Recent consumers have been hurt by sanitary pad brands collapsing and down jackets being exposed by CCTV. Unexpectedly, whenever other brands collapse, Pangdonglai becomes a beneficiary. Recently, hashtags like 'Customers say Pangdonglai down jackets are sold out' and 'Pangdonglai sanitary pad section ransacked' have topped the hot search list."
author: "财经天下"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2024-12-09"
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# Purchasing Agents for Pangdonglai: Some Have Made Millions

> Recent consumers have been hurt by sanitary pad brands collapsing and down jackets being exposed by CCTV. Unexpectedly, whenever other brands collapse, Pangdonglai becomes a beneficiary. Recently, hashtags like 'Customers say Pangdonglai down jackets are sold out' and 'Pangdonglai sanitary pad section ransacked' have topped the hot search list.

Recent consumers have been hurt: the sanitary pad brands they use have collectively collapsed, and the down jackets they wear have been exposed by CCTV. But unexpectedly, **whenever other brands collapse, Pangdonglai becomes the beneficiary.**
Not long ago, hashtags such as "Customers say Pangdonglai down jackets are sold out" and "Pangdonglai sanitary pad section ransacked" topped the hot search lists.
# **Down Jackets and More Sold Out**
#  In this increasingly cold season, more than a dozen Pangdonglai stores in Xuchang and Xinxiang, Henan, are bustling with activity. Especially the Pangdonglai Angel City store and Times Square store in Xuchang. Because of their large scale and complete product categories, these two stores have seen tremendous customer traffic.
Xu Ran, who lives near Angel City, never expected that the sanitary pad brand she often uses would become a hot item overnight. At 10 a.m. on November 24, Xu Ran found that the shelves for大王Elis (a brand) couldn't even be stocked with sanitary pads before they were taken by customers, with many people grabbing them in cartloads. Following CCTV's exposure of down jackets, the hot sales of Pangdonglai products also appeared in the down jacket category a few days later. Moreover, the frenzy of people grabbing Pangdonglai products showed no signs of stopping even by December 1. "Half an hour after the doors opened in the morning, the sanitary pad shelves were empty," Xu Ran told the author. In the past two years, Xu Ran, who goes to Angel City almost every day, has deeply felt the incredible flow of people during this period. Some people wanted to buy vegetables but ended up losing their shoes in the crowd. "Even bean sprouts and tofu have to be grabbed," Xu Ran lamented. Even on December 2, at around 1 p.m. on a workday, Pangdonglai was buzzing with noise. The reasons are: **first, as the year-end approaches, people have strong demand for New Year goods; second, after recent brand collapses in various categories, many people have come specifically for Pangdonglai.** "These days, not only is the store traffic huge, but customer service phones and WeChat messages are constantly ringing," Pangdonglai employee Wang Si told the author. With unprecedented popularity, Wang Si is also extremely busy. At around 5 p.m. on December 1, while answering customer service calls, at least 20 calls came in within a few minutes. To prevent safety hazards, Pangdonglai had to take some measures. For example, Angel City opens at 9:30 a.m. and starts limiting traffic from around 10 a.m.: letting batches of customers in at intervals. On December 1, the restriction was not eased until after 6 p.m. In fact, looking at a broader scope, not just during this period but over the past two years since Pangdonglai became popular, there has been an endless stream of people rushing to buy products. Regarding the people who come to buy Pangdonglai products, the author found that besides local residents and curious out-of-town tourists, there are also internet celebrities, purchasing agents, tour groups, and study groups. Wang Qiang is one of the purchasing agents for Pangdonglai. He arrives at Pangdonglai Angel City before 9:30 every day. There, he waits with various people for the store to open, including many fellow purchasing agents. Wang Qiang has a fixed customer base, mostly from southern cities like Zhejiang and Jiangsu. To better serve customers, Wang Qiang has compiled 100 of Pangdonglai's private-label products into a beautiful product catalog. The product names, specifications, and prices are listed in the catalog. Even though Wang Qiang calls himself a small purchasing agent, buying Pangdonglai products through him still requires advance reservation and waiting, "because we can't ship so many goods at once," Wang Qiang told the author. According to the information provided by Wang Qiang, he mostly does not mark up the prices of Pangdonglai products but only charges a certain errand fee. For purchases of 100-200 yuan, the fee is 20 yuan; 200-300 yuan, 30 yuan; and so on, up to a maximum of 500 yuan. For amounts over 500 yuan, an additional 10 yuan is charged for every 100 yuan. Among these, DL big mooncakes, beef strips, sweet marinated sausage, and beer are charged extra. These products require extra fees because they are truly "out-of-stock kings" and are troublesome to buy. From Zhang Huan's perspective in Zhejiang, Wang Qiang's errand fee is relatively cheap. She once used a purchasing agent who charged an extra 3 yuan per item. Zhang Huan once bought five items with a total original price of less than 100 yuan, but she paid 15 yuan in markups alone, not including shipping. Many purchasing agents have made a fortune from this. Xiao Ya is a "laid-back" purchasing agent for Pangdonglai. She often doesn't mark up prices or charge errand fees, helping netizens buy Pangdonglai products for free. Even so, during last year's Mid-Autumn Festival, through an acquaintance, Xiao Ya helped a friend buy Pangdonglai small mooncakes. Out of courtesy, the friend insisted on giving her some errand fees. In just over ten days, Xiao Ya earned more than 2,000 yuan. In the purchasing agent groups in Xuchang, there is always a rumor: some big agents made millions last year, and small agents basically earn 30,000 yuan a month. Xiao Ya thinks this is about right: "Some people, in order to do Pangdonglai purchasing, even bought a house near Angel City for nearly 3 million yuan." Tour groups heading to Pangdonglai usually come from surrounding cities in Henan, spending a day traveling back and forth. Xu Ran has seen Shandong tour groups arriving by bus to shop at Pangdonglai. In addition, in recent years, many companies have also organized groups to study at Pangdonglai, from supermarket giants like Yonghui to unknown supermarket managers. **Regardless of the group, they all are willing to pay for Pangdonglai products.**
# **The Making of the "Out-of-Stock King"**
#  The reason for the frenzy over Pangdonglai products is **related to the ultimate service Pangdonglai provides in terms of experience, after-sales, and service.**
Zhao Liang from Xinxiang remembers that when she was very young, her family was willing to go to Pangdonglai because of the free parking at the entrance. Around 2000, at major shopping malls in Xinxiang, even parking for electric bikes and bicycles was charged, usually 1-2 yuan per time. After Pangdonglai entered Xinxiang, the city entered an era of free parking. When she got older, Zhao Liang's family liked going to Pangdonglai because of the free hemming and ironing services, even for clothes not bought there. As an adult, Zhao Liang also likes going to Pangdonglai. After all, the guy at the door can tell from a glance at the receipt whether the cashier overcharged by a few cents, and if so, the money is immediately refunded. Of course, this is not the only reason Pangdonglai is sought after. After all, those who use purchasing agents cannot enjoy the store's ultimate service. But why do they buy Pangdonglai products regardless of cost? It's all because of the private-label products. Multiple purchasing agents told the author that almost all the products they buy on behalf of others are Pangdonglai private-label products. Pangdonglai's private-label products cover a wide range, including daily necessities, alcoholic beverages and oils, cooked foods and fried items, and private-label foods. Taking food as an example, Pangdonglai has more than 20 popular private-label items in this category, including liquor, juice, snacks, bakery, grain and oil, and seasonings. Among them, the ones that hit consumers' hearts are liquor, beverages, mooncakes, soy sauce, cakes, desserts, and cooked foods. If someone buys from Xiao Ya, she first recommends beef strips and small sweet sausages. These two foods suit most tastes, and those who have tried them generally say they are delicious. In addition, taro mud snow cake is soft and easy to mail; the spicy strip-flavored sausage is also delicious, though it needs to be grilled at home after arrival. For oat crisps, Xiao Ya usually suggests fruit and yogurt flavors, which taste better with李子园 (a milk drink). The nut flavor she keeps in the office and eats directly as a snack without brewing. "These are the private-label products I recommend for purchasing; they can't be bought elsewhere. For other private-label products like soy sauce, the shipping cost is too high, so I don't recommend buying them through agents." Like those who buy through Xiao Ya and Wang Qiang, people who buy Pangdonglai products in physical stores are usually attracted by the characteristics of private-label products: "clean, simple ingredient lists" and "what you see is what you get." Take Pangdonglai's newly launched private-label black bean soy sauce as an example; it sold out immediately upon release. Compared to many soy sauces with additives like MSG, caramel color, preservatives, and flavor enhancers, the ingredient list of black bean soy sauce is simple, with only four ingredients: water, non-GMO black beans, edible salt, and wheat. It is said that this black bean brewed soy sauce undergoes more than 180 days of first-press fermentation. For Pangdonglai's private-label "oat crisps," some netizens have done experiments and found that the packaging image is almost identical to the actual product, from size to color, with no "image for reference only" situation. Its own dried fish is also "what you see is what you get." How are Pangdonglai's private-label products made? Some are produced by Pangdonglai itself. For example, Pangdonglai has its own dessert factory and edible oil processing plant. Xiao Ya has a relative who worked at Pangdonglai's dessert factory, and they often eat and chat together. "I've never heard of any cutting corners or poor hygiene; such remarks are even less common." Xiao Ya doesn't dare to buy cooked foods like boneless chicken feet elsewhere, but she can buy them with her eyes closed at Pangdonglai stores. Xiao Ya, who is busy with work and doesn't cook, eats at Pangdonglai every day. Other Pangdonglai private-label products are sourced from dedicated suppliers, usually top-tier manufacturers. For example, the light-flavor liquor自由爱 is a collaboration between Pangdonglai and Baofeng Distillery. Baofeng Distillery, founded in 1948, is one of the earliest liquor enterprises in China and the only one in the four provinces of Henan, Shandong, Anhui, and Jiangsu that produces light-flavor liquor. A Pangdonglai supplier once revealed that the specifications and ratios of products supplied to Pangdonglai are custom-made. Even non-private-label products can be trusted at Pangdonglai. For instance, the sanitary pads that were grabbed during this period are not Pangdonglai private-label products. It is not easy for these products to enter Pangdonglai stores. The author learned that non-private-label products like sanitary pads must provide testing reports. Pangdonglai not only verifies the reports but also conducts random inspections to ensure product quality. Therefore, when sanitary pad brands collectively collapsed, people suddenly realized, "So Pangdonglai knew they were unqualified all along!" Consumers' trust in Pangdonglai also comes from its transparency in multi-dimensional information. Take the down jackets that are selling well these days; their price tags disclose the supplier, the store's purchase price, and the gross margin. "We stipulate that the gross margin for clothing cannot exceed 25%," Wang Si told the author. At the third session of the 2024 LianShang Donglai CEO Class, Pangdonglai founder Yu Donglai stated that in the past year or so, Pangdonglai's private-label SKUs have exceeded 100, with sales reaching 1.1 billion yuan, accounting for 30% of total sales (including central kitchen), and four single products have exceeded 100 million yuan in sales. Yu Donglai predicts that in the next three years, the sales proportion of Pangdonglai's private-label products will at least exceed 50%. What's even more surprising is yet to come.
# **Yu Donglai's Joys and Worries**
#  The author saw from Tianyancha that Pangdonglai's named and affiliated companies almost cover all retail industries in Xuchang: from gold and jewelry to beverages, from cakes and bakeries to pharmacies and restaurants. Many people say Pangdonglai is a supermarket, but most of its stores are shopping malls, similar to Intime or Wanda.
For example, the supermarket at Angel City is on the basement floor, while the supermarkets at Times Square and Life Plaza are on the first floor. The upper floors are usually occupied by external brands or Pangdonglai's own or co-branded brands. Some of Pangdonglai's pharmacy counters are mostly set up at the supermarket entrance. It can be said that Pangdonglai, with 13 stores in Xuchang and Xinxiang, is a retail brand that basically meets the daily needs and imaginations of local residents. The latest operating data released by Yu Donglai on social media shows that as of November 26, 2024, Pangdonglai's cumulative sales have reached 14.638 billion yuan. Given Pangdonglai's average monthly sales of over 1.3 billion yuan in 2024, and the good momentum of selling over 1 billion yuan in November, with at least 400 million yuan in December already locked in, it is no surprise that Pangdonglai's 2024 revenue will exceed 15 billion yuan. But this does not mean Yu Donglai has no worries. Since becoming popular, every word and action of Yu Donglai has attracted attention. The controversial incidents of "Pangdonglai employees' wedding banquets not exceeding 5 tables" and "employees not allowed to ask for or pay bride prices" were temporarily resolved after Yu Donglai's latest statement, admitting that his way of expression was wrong. Regarding various external doubts about Yu Donglai, several Pangdonglai employees disagreed. They told the author, "Brother treats us really like family. Working at Pangdonglai is full of happiness." At Pangdonglai, employees of all ages call Yu Donglai "Brother." Since Pangdonglai became popular, "Brother" Yu Donglai has spent less time in the stores, "mostly studying or communicating outside, or traveling on his own." However, some employees find some rules annoying. For example, Pangdonglai once required factory employees to maintain a good mental state, such as not shrinking their necks when it's cold and not putting hands in pockets. "They have to wear helmets when commuting, and reflective clothing when leaving work at night," a person close to Pangdonglai revealed to the author. One wave after another. Amid Pangdonglai's unprecedented popularity, on some platforms, there are already more than 300 accounts directly named "Pangdonglai purchasing agent." Many accounts have started live streaming, claiming to be shopping at Pangdonglai stores, and consumers can order directly through the shopping cart. According to Lanjing Finance, taking the account "Xuchang Donglai Selected" as an example, the blogger claims to live stream purchasing at Pangdonglai every day. Although the account currently has fewer than 40,000 followers, data platforms show that in the past 30 days, it has streamed 27 times, with sales of nearly 2.5 million yuan. All products are named after Pangdonglai, and even the associated store is called Donglai Times Department Store. This made Yu Donglai angry. After all, so far, Pangdonglai has not done live streaming sales; they are purely riding on Pangdonglai's popularity. On December 1, Yu Donglai even posted three messages on social media, warning merchants who use Pangdonglai for live streaming sales to deceive people. "The company is seeking legal action through the court to handle this matter," an employee told the author. Recently, the mood of local Xuchang residents has not been great either. Too many people come to Pangdonglai to shop, so many can't even get in. They also want to buy Pangdonglai's private-label peanut oil, sunflower oil, soy sauce, laundry detergent, small soybean sprouts, tofu, and beer. Even if they finally get in, the things they want are gone. Xiao Ya gets off work at around 6 p.m., and usually by that time, her favorite desserts are already sold out. Pangdonglai has also taken some actions, such as limiting traffic and implementing purchase restrictions. For example, for beer, one WeChat account can only buy once a week; for mooncakes, one WeChat account is limited to two sets; and for tea, there is a daily quota. But unfortunately, where there is a policy, there is a countermeasure. For example, purchasing agents hire elderly people to help buy. "These elderly people don't understand; they usually get two or three yuan or some eggs," Xiao Ya said bluntly. What worries Xiao Ya even more is that some agents grab a lot of things but may not sell them all. "Cooked foods go bad after a few days, affecting quality, and Pangdonglai's brand image will be damaged." The city of Xuchang is also in a state of pain and joy. In the first three quarters of this year, Xuchang's total retail sales of consumer goods reached 108.05 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%, ranking first in the province. This achievement is inseparable from the massive traffic brought by Pangdonglai. After all, Pangdonglai stores are mainly in Xuchang, and countless netizens are willing to take high-speed rail round trips to experience the "ceiling of the supermarket industry" for a day trip. But at the same time, the huge passenger flow has made Xuchang's traffic somewhat overwhelmed. Around the large shopping malls like Angel City, Times Square, and Life Plaza, traffic jams usually occur within 1-2 kilometers, and parking near Pangdonglai stores requires queuing. Some conservative estimates suggest that people driving to Pangdonglai spend almost 30-60 minutes before entering the supermarket. Even if they successfully enter the supermarket area, it is still crowded. Facing the long-term shortage of popular online celebrity products, Xiao Ya fell into deep thought. Today, amidst the hustle and bustle, how to calm the mind is a difficult problem for everyone.


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