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Shares in Sun Art Retail Group experienced a significant jump today following the announcement that the former head of Hema Fresh, the grocery chain operated by a major e-commerce company, has been appointed as the new CEO, with immediate effect.
The company’s stock price increased by 8.7%, closing at HKD1.75 (approximately USD0.22).
A three-year employment agreement has been signed with Li Weiping, who is based in Hong Kong. As CEO, she will earn a fixed annual salary of CNY3.36 million (around USD475,000) along with an annual management bonus.
Li succeeds Shen Hui, who served less than two years of his three-year contract before resigning due to personal reasons. Shen previously held the position of general manager at the Auchan hypermarket chain, a subsidiary of the company, from February 2016 to May 2017.
At 47 years old, Li has accumulated 26 years of experience in retail. She joined Hema Fresh in Shanghai in 2018 and took on various roles before becoming CEO. Prior to that, from June 2007 to August 2018, she was the general manager of Lotte Supermarket’s North China division.
In the six months ending September 30, the company reported a loss of CNY123 million (about USD17.4 million), reversing a profit of CNY200 million from the previous year. Revenue dropped 12.1% to CNY30.5 billion (roughly USD4.3 billion).
As of September 30, the retail chain operated 462 hypermarkets, 32 medium-sized supermarkets, and seven membership stores. Approximately 65% of these locations were leased, while the remaining 35% were owned by the company.
The company plans to accelerate store upgrades, aiming to renovate more than 30 stores during this fiscal year and complete over 200 store improvements by the next fiscal year.
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