BaWang Tea Princess's net revenue in 2025 is 12.9 billion, with overseas GMV increasing over 75% year-over-year for three consecutive quarters, shifting to a franchise partnership model.

Red Star Capital Bureau, April 1 — Bawang Chaji (NASDAQ: CHA) released its first annual report since listing on the evening of March 31.

In 2025, the company achieved total GMV (gross merchandise value) of 31.58 billion yuan, up 7.2%; net revenue was 12.91 billion yuan, up about 4%; operating profit was 1.35B yuan, down 53.33% year over year; and adjusted net profit was 1.91 billion yuan, down more than 20% year over year.

Looking back at 2025, Bawang Chaji’s overseas business performed relatively well. In the last quarter of 2025, Bawang Chaji’s overseas GMV reached 370 million yuan, up 84.6% year over year, and up 23.9% quarter over quarter. Overseas GMV has grown by more than 75% year over year for three consecutive quarters.

Figure from Visual China

However, compared with the overseas market, Bawang Chaji faced a more complex operating environment in the domestic market, and also carried out a comprehensive internal reorganization in the second half of last year, which in turn weighed on performance. In the fourth quarter of last year, Bawang Chaji’s operating profit turned from profit to loss—changing from a profit of 640 million yuan in the same period of 2024 to a loss of 35.5 million yuan.

Data shows that Bawang Chaji’s average monthly GMV per store in the domestic market has declined for 8 consecutive quarters. After the number of stores more than doubled in 2023 and 2024, Bawang Chaji slowed its pace of new store openings last year. In 2025, the number of stores grew 15.73% year over year. At the same time, Bawang Chaji adjusted its cooperation model with franchisees. Starting in 2026, the company will fully shift from a supply-and-sales model (selling raw-material goods) to a deep brand revenue-sharing cooperation model (GMV sharing).

Overseas stores reach 345

Plan to open about 200 more overseas stores this year

On the evening of the 31st, Bawang Chaji released its 2025 fourth-quarter and full-year performance data. For 2025 as a whole, revenue increased 4% year over year to 12.91B yuan; operating profit was 1.35B yuan, down 53.33% year over year; and the full-year net profit attributable to the parent was 1.14B yuan, down 52.4% year over year.

The financial report shows that in 2025, the overseas business segment of Bawang Chaji grew at a clearly faster pace. In the fourth quarter of last year, Bawang Chaji’s overseas GMV reached 370 million yuan, up 84.6% year over year and up 23.9% quarter over quarter. Overseas GMV has grown by more than 75% year over year for three consecutive quarters. As of December 31, 2025, outside the China market, Bawang Chaji had 345 overseas stores, covering 7 countries in Southeast Asia and North America.

Bawang Chaji said it will continue to invest in overseas markets in 2026. In January this year, Bawang Chaji, together with the Singapore Tourism Board and the Museum of Asian Civilizations, launched a tea culture exhibition 《Tea Garden Dreams》. In March this year, the company announced it will enter the Korean market; three stores located in Gangnam, Yongsan, and Sinchon are scheduled to open in the second quarter of this year.

In the fourth-quarter earnings call after the release of the financial report, Zhang Junjie, founder, chairman, and global CEO of Bawang Chaji, said that 2026 is Bawang Chaji’s “overseas foundation-building year,” with a plan to add about 200 new overseas stores. More importantly, the company will run and solidify a profitable model in every country market it has entered, building a replicable same-store growth framework.

The domestic market faces a more complex operating environment

Founder’s review of the biggest challenge in 2025

Compared with overseas performance, Bawang Chaji faced a more complex operating environment in the domestic market last year. During the call, Zhang Junjie directly reviewed the company’s comprehensive internal reorganization in the second half of 2025, noting a slow response speed, and the postponement of launches led to a noticeable decline in performance. “That is indeed the biggest challenge the company faced in 2025.”

Judging from the company’s performance in the fourth quarter of last year, Bawang Chaji achieved revenue of 2.97B yuan, down 10.8% year over year; operating profit was a loss of 35.5 million yuan, compared with a profit of 640 million yuan in the same period last year; net profit attributable to the parent was 28.54M yuan, which calculates to a 95.3% year-over-year decline.

On April 1, Zhan Junhao, a well-known strategic positioning expert and founder of Fujian Huace brand positioning consultancy, told Red Star Capital Bureau that Bawang Chaji’s fourth-quarter performance decline was driven by both external and internal shocks. Externally, the new-style tea beverage price war was intense, and because the company did not participate in low-price subsidy efforts, foot traffic was lost. Internally, the reorganization of the organizational structure and the reconfiguration of the franchise model incurred expenses; combined with a slowdown in new product iteration, multiple factors converged, causing profit to turn from profit to loss.

Lin Yue, Chief Consultant at Lingyan Management Consulting and an analyst in the food and beverage industry, believed that Bawang Chaji’s performance decline was mainly because it did not join the subsidy battle on delivery platforms, so its sales were not as good as its competitors. In addition, it also slowed its pace in terms of new product launches after conducting a deep organizational transformation in 2025, leading to overall weak performance.

Red Star Capital Bureau noted that Bawang Chaji’s pace of new product introductions among new-style tea beverage brands was slower last year. According to the 《Tea Beverage Category Development Report 2026》 released by the China Tea Beverage Industry Research Institute (RedCan Industry Research Institute), in 2025, the 75 monitored tea beverage sample brands launched 2,691 new products in total. Among them, Nayuki’s Tea (02150.HK) reached 8 new products on average per month, while brands such as Chabaidao (02555.HK) and Hu Shang Ah Yi (02589.HK) had 5 to 6 new products on average per month. Against this backdrop, Bawang Chaji’s average number of new products launched per month was 3 to 4, with an average of 1 to 1.5 product introduction rounds per month.

Gradually saying goodbye to the phase of rapid store expansion

Plan for “stabilization in the first half, repair in the second half” this year

It is worth noting that Bawang Chaji’s per-store profitability has continued to decline, and the company is gradually moving away from the phase of rapid store expansion and entering a transformation period.

The financial report shows that Bawang Chaji’s average monthly GMV per store in the domestic market has declined for 8 consecutive quarters. From the fourth quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2025, the average monthly GMV per store was 574k yuan, 549k yuan, 538k yuan, 528k yuan, 456k yuan, 432k yuan, 404k yuan, 376k yuan, and 337k yuan, respectively.

From the end of 2022 to the end of 2024, Bawang Chaji’s global store count was 1,087, 3,511, and 6,440 stores, respectively, showing nearly doubling growth almost every year. In 2025, Bawang Chaji clearly slowed its store-opening pace; by the end of last year, the total number of stores was 7,453.

In the fourth-quarter earnings call, Zhang Junjie said that 2023 to 2024 was the company’s period of rapid growth. With more than 7,000 stores nationwide, a “Boya cuts no string”—a billion-yuan-level hero product—allowed Bawang Chaji to successfully define the fresh milk tea made with original leaves category, accumulating nearly 240 million members. “All of these form our solid competitive barriers.” But in 2025, the tea beverage market entered a new stage, “and we have not gone all out in (extreme consumer experience).”

According to management, after going through 2025, the internal restructuring has basically been completed, and the pace and order of operations have returned to steady. For 2026, Bawang Chaji will continue to uphold “high-value brands and high-quality products.”

More specifically, this includes launching new store formats; targeting a young customer base for multi-category innovation, such as tea special blends and tea lattes; strengthening penetration into morning and evening scenarios, as well as multi-scenario needs such as workplace life, major life events, birthdays, campus life, and weddings; improving user experience through environment and service; and internally pushing forward systematized capability building at full strength.

In addition, Bawang Chaji also adjusted its cooperation model with franchisees. As introduced by Bawang Chaji’s global COO, global executive president, and CEO for China, Yin Dengfeng, starting in 2026 the company will fully shift from a supply-and-sales model (selling raw-material goods) to a deep brand revenue-sharing (GMV sharing) cooperation model. “That means only when the franchisees make money can the company make money.” “This marks that we have truly established a community of interests with franchisees. With a tighter cooperation relationship, we will work together to drive continuous growth in future GMV.”

“Entering 2026, recent data on same-store sales in the domestic market has shown a trend of month-over-month improvement. This gives us strong confidence in the full-year rhythm of ‘stabilization in the first half and repair in the second half.’” Zhang Junjie said.

Red Star News reporter Yu Yao Zhou Yi

Editor Xiao Shiqing Reviewer Ren Zhijiang