“Xibei will close down” is a hot search topic! The truth behind the boss’s 5.4 million yuan pledge

摘要：Jia Guolong who can’t go back (welcome to follow Girlfriend Finance)

Written by | Sister Mi

This is the 1825th original article by @best friend finance

After a long silence, Jia Guolong and his catering kingdom Xibei have once again become the focus of public opinion. This time it is not a matter of pre-made dishes, but a matter of survival.

On September 19, a topic “Xibei was revealed to be completely bankrupt” became a hot search topic. The person who broke the news is called “Li Ji” and has more than 5.4 million fans.

At about the same time, the media revealed another incident: Jia Guolong’s wife, Zhang Liping, pledged her Xibei shares for 5.4 million yuan.

Chart source｜Tianyancha (Thank you!)

The two things were put together, making it difficult for onlookers not to think the worst.

From Sister Mi’s point of view, this matter needs to be looked at separately. Perhaps we both underestimated the rumors and overestimated the crisis.

01

Let’s start with this renewed turmoil.

As Miss Wen Chumi mentioned, the source of this public controversy came from the revelations made by the blogger “Li Ji”. The content pointed out that Xibei’s business is in dire straits and is expected to completely collapse within two to three months. Jia Guolong will personally take on most of the debts and give up his shares. In the end, only a small number of profitable stores will be retained to protect the basic livelihood of grassroots employees.

In the face of the turbulent public opinion, Xibei’s public relations response was very conventional. It was nothing more than standardized rhetoric about normal store operations, stable product quality, and untrue information transmitted online.

This is not empty talk either.

A number of media visited the store on September 20: The Beijing Financial Street store had to queue up for a table at noon, the Taiyuan store said “the revenue last month was 400,000 yuan and it will not go bankrupt”, the Nanjing store said the lease had been signed for five years, and there was a store in Shenzhen that queued for an hour during the morning rush hour.

It’s hard to imagine a restaurant that’s going to close down completely within two or three months, but there’s still a queue at the door.

So the first thing to note is that a complete collapse is an unconfirmed revelation, not a fact. “Liji” himself said that this was the information he learned about three weeks ago. The number of stores and employees were all unilaterally stated by him. Xibei has not issued any official statement, and the court has not confirmed his subsequent statement that Xibei’s lawsuit against Luo Yonghao is about to begin.

But the second point is equally important: Xibei did suffer the heaviest blow since its establishment this year, and this is also supported by public data.

Jia Guolong himself disclosed through multiple media that Xibei’s overall revenue in November 2025 was only 265 million yuan, less than half of the same period in previous years; and the fixed expenditure on wages alone in that month was as high as 135 million yuan.

This means that a single monthly salary expenditure has covered 51% of monthly revenue. Adding rigid costs such as rent, supply chain, water and electricity, etc., monthly operating losses will not be small.

From September 2025 when the pre-made dish crisis broke out to March 2026, Xibei’s cumulative losses exceeded 600 million yuan. In January 2026, store business continued to decline year-on-year.

According to data from Zhaimen Restaurants, as of September 10, Xibei had approximately 226 operating stores, while the peak before the crisis was nearly 400.

02

Then let’s talk about the 5.4 million pledge from Xibei proprietress Zhang Liping.

In the industrial and commercial information, Sister Mi saw that Zhang Liping directly holds about 5.2% of the equity of Inner Mongolia Xibei Catering Group, and the subscribed capital contribution is exactly about 5.4 million yuan. This part of the direct shareholding is pledged this time, and the pledge is artificially executed.

In addition, she also indirectly holds about 8.17% through other entities, and no pledge was made for that part.

Chart source｜Enterprise Alert (Thank you!)

At its peak, a catering group had nearly 400 stores and annual revenue of several billion. The book value of the portion pledged by the founder’s wife was 5.4 million. To be honest, for Xibei’s size, this is really not much life-saving money.

Therefore, looking at this sum of 5.4 million alone, we cannot conclude that the capital chain is broken. It can only indicate that cash flow is tight. What should really be watched is whether Zhang Liping’s indirect 8.17% has moved and whether the overall financing and credit at the group level are tightening. These days I can’t see everything with my eyesight.

Chart source｜Enterprise Alert (Thank you!)

Moreover, Xibei is currently facing not only operating pressure, but also capital pressure.

In 2022, Jia Guolong announced in a high-profile manner that Xibei planned to complete the Hong Kong IPO in 2026 and become a listed company with a market value of over 100 billion. Four years later, this goal has become impossible to achieve.

The consequence of a stranded listing is not only the loss of a financing channel, but also means that investors who entered in previous rounds are under pressure to exit.

Jingheng Investment in 2021, Xinchao Media in early 2025, and Xinrongji Zhang Yong, who is the latest to enter the game, the patience of these capitals is limited.

03

Tracing back to the root cause, the core trigger of Xibei’s current business difficulties is the previous controversy over prepared dishes. But in Sister Mi’s view, it would be too one-sided to attribute Xibei’s plight entirely to a public opinion overturn on prepared dishes.

The real core of this crisis is actually the business model of traditional high-end Chinese dinners, which is being questioned at a time when consumption is becoming more rational, and public opinion is nothing but a catalyst.

In addition, Xibei’s early expansion also left sequelae, accumulating some inefficient stores with poor location selection and weak profits. These mistakes can be covered up during the market dividend period, but will be magnified during the period of market pain.

The most fatal point is that Xibei relies too much on the founder’s personal IP and lacks modern corporate governance capabilities.

For a long time, Jia Guolong’s personal ideas, remarks and marketing decisions have dominated all development directions of Xibei. The company has not established a mature risk prevention and control system and standardized decision-making mechanism. Once the founder makes a mistake in judgment and responds improperly to public opinion, the entire company will have no buffer space.

In summary, compared to before the crisis, Xibei has really lost money, and the lack of money should be real. It’s just that the words “complete bankruptcy” are a bit exaggerated under the current circumstances, and it has not yet reached the death sentence.

As a leading brand in the industry, Xibei’s supply chain, brand influence, and nationwide store layout are unmatched by small and medium-sized catering brands.

But Xibei is no longer the benchmark brand that has grown steadily and led the industry. Just as my country’s catering industry can no longer return to the era of barbaric growth and growth.

The article is for discussion and analysis only and does not constitute investment advice. The unspecified pictures in this article are all from public reports by authoritative media. Please note and thank you!