112 stores, with annual revenue exceeding 1 billion yuan, Hillhouse has invested in "China's largest dining pub"

Author | Xiaoxia Li

Editor | Qian Qiao

The crowded Hong Kong stock market has welcomed a dining and drinking bar brand, "COMMUNE Magician".

COMMUNE is a composite dining and drinking bar that combines three major functional sections: a self - service beverage area, a super bar, and a dining area. It targets the consumption groups of Generation Z and the new middle - class.

It's easy to understand that a dining and drinking bar is a composite venue that combines the social atmosphere of traditional bars with the full - service dining experience. In 2016, the transformation of an old factory building in Wuhan Garden Road marked the starting point of COMMUNE.

The founding team has 20 years of continuous entrepreneurial experience in the catering industry. The founder, Weitang Tang, entered the bar industry in 2003. On platforms like Dianping and Xiaohongshu, COMMUNE is known as the "Museum of Dining and Drinking".

Later, with the rise of the "tipsy economy" and the "Japanese cuisine by day, drinks by night" model, COMMUNE began to attract the attention of capital.

In early 2021, the company received Series A financing from Hillhouse Capital. In 2022, it completed Series A+ financing worth hundreds of millions of yuan, led by Dayone Capital, with Hillhouse Capital and Tomato Capital following. 36Kr reported on this exclusively.

Before the IPO, Tomato Capital had exited. Hillhouse Capital and Dayone Capital held 9.63% and 1.71% of the shares respectively.

According to the prospectus, from 2023 to 2024, the company's revenue increased from 845 million yuan to 1.074 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 27.1%. In the first three quarters of 2025, the revenue increased by 14.2% year - on - year, reaching 872 million yuan.

Image source: Prospectus

The growth mainly came from the expansion of COMMUNE's stores, increasing from 94 at the end of 2023 to 110 by the end of 2024. By the end of September 2025, COMMUNE had opened 112 directly - operated stores in 40 cities across the country.

Under the general cost pressure in the industry, COMMUNE's profits fluctuated. The adjusted net profit was 73.4 million yuan in 2023, dropped to 66.2 million yuan in 2024, and rebounded to 78.6 million yuan in the first three quarters of 2025.

Meanwhile, the prospectus presented two sides of COMMUNE's operation. On the one hand, it had a high gross profit margin of over 65%. On the other hand, there was a periodic decline in same - store sales.

How did it achieve a high gross profit margin?

According to the prospectus, COMMUNE's gross profit margin has always been stable above 65%, significantly higher than the average range of 50% - 70% in the catering industry. It reached 70.5% in 2023, slightly dropped to 67.8% in 2024, and rebounded to 68.7% in the first three quarters of 2025.

This gross profit level exceeds the average gross profit of full - meal, hot - pot and other formats (50% - 65%). For comparison, Haidilao's gross profit margin was 62.1% in 2024 and 60.2% in the middle of 2025. The gross profit margin of Xiaocaiyuan, an affordable Anhui cuisine restaurant, was 68.12% in 2024 and 70.5% in the middle of 2025.

Image source: Prospectus

COMMUNE's high gross profit comes from its product structure of "high - gross - profit beverages + meals", including draft beer, whiskey, other imported spirits, hand - mixed cocktails, and a series of special brunch, handmade pizzas, etc.

As of September 2025, beverages contributed about 45% of the revenue, of which 85% were alcoholic beverages. The gross profit of alcoholic beverages, especially those of its own brands, was significantly higher than that of meals.

According to a previous report by "Bright Company", taking the self - owned "Magician Series" beverages as an example, the Magician beer sold in the store at 20 yuan per bottle has a very low external procurement cost. It costs about 2.5 yuan per bottle on Taobao, and the gross profit of this single product can reach 87.5%.

According to the prospectus, as of September 30, 2025, COMMUNE had launched 14 SKUs of self - owned brand packaged beverages, such as "Magician German Wheat" and "White Peach Oolong Cider", accounting for more than 20% of the total sales of alcoholic beverages.

Image source: Prospectus

Another factor is the advantage of large - scale supply chain. The prospectus shows that COMMUNE has established long - term strategic cooperation with leading domestic and foreign suppliers. Through centralized procurement and direct - purchase models, it reduces intermediate links, and the procurement costs of core ingredients and beverages are significantly lower than the industry average.

Meanwhile, the warehousing and distribution systems in the three major regions of Beijing - Tianjin - Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Greater Bay Area ensure efficient fulfillment. The delivery efficiency of next - day delivery within a 500 - kilometer radius and 2 - 3 days for cross - regional delivery not only reduces inventory losses but also ensures product freshness, indirectly supporting the stability of the gross profit.

In terms of store types, the hierarchical design of "standard stores + selected stores" is precisely tailored to different markets. 92 standard stores focus on the core business districts of second - and third - tier cities, maintaining customer flow density with high - cost - performance products. 17 selected stores are located in landmark locations in first - tier cities, increasing the average customer spend through high - end products such as craft beer and whiskey. The two types of stores work together to optimize the gross profit structure.

Different from the single night - time consumption scenario of traditional bars, COMMUNE has accurately grasped the demand for "social upgrading" from the very beginning. It connects brunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and the night - time drinking market. During the day, it is an ideal place for family gatherings and business meals. At night, it turns into a trendy gathering place for young people.

This breaks the boundaries between traditional bars that "emphasize drinks over meals" and restaurants that "emphasize meals over socializing". With an operation logic of "all - day + all - scenario", it greatly improves the utilization rate of store assets.

Its all - day operation of more than 16 hours (covering brunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and night - time drinks) has increased the average daily order volume of stores from 256 in 2023 to 327 in the first three quarters of 2025, significantly improving space utilization and asset turnover efficiency and spreading fixed costs such as rent and labor.

Image source: Prospectus

All these have enabled COMMUNE to achieve good store operation efficiency. The average payback period for store investment is 17 months, and the first break - even period for stores is about 3 months.

Dining and drinking bars can also be affordable

From 2023 to 2024, the domestic catering industry seemed to be recovering. In 2023, the national catering revenue exceeded 5 trillion yuan for the first time, a year - on - year increase of 20.4%. However, in 2024, the revenue was 5.57 trillion yuan, with a year - on - year increase of only 5.3%, and the per - capita consumption dropped from 42.6 yuan to 39.8 yuan.

In the trend of affordable consumption, COMMUNE made strategic pricing adjustments to adapt to the changing market environment. The direct impact was a periodic decline in same - store sales and same - store sales growth rate.

For example, the same - store sales in first - tier cities decreased from 211 million yuan in 2023 to 209 million yuan in 2024, with a same - store sales growth rate of - 1.1%. The growth rate in third - tier and lower - tier cities was - 4.2%, and only second - tier cities maintained a positive growth of 3.6%.

In terms of the average daily same - store sales, in the first 9 months of 2025, first - tier cities led with 386,000 yuan, followed by second - tier cities with 272,000 yuan, and third - tier and lower - tier cities with 192,000 yuan. This gradient difference not only reflects the consumption ability gap among different - tier cities but also implies potential opportunities in store cultivation and consumption - habit adaptation in lower - tier markets.

Image source: Prospectus

Image source: Prospectus

Notably, since 2024, COMMUNE's meal revenue has exceeded beverage revenue. From 2024 to the first nine months of 2025, food sales were 539 million yuan and 471 million yuan respectively, and the proportion increased from 50.2% to 54%. In 2023, 55.3% of the revenue came from beverage sales, and food only accounted for 43%.

Image source: Prospectus

COMMUNE said that this change reflects the increasing attractiveness of its own food and consumers' recognition. Relying on popular dishes such as "Crispy Golden - Sand Wings" and "Black Truffle Air - Dried Ham Pizza" developed in cooperation with American celebrity chefs and with sales of nearly 3 million servings, COMMUNE has indeed created user memory points in both the catering and beverage dimensions in the past two years.

To some extent, the change in COMMUNE's revenue structure also reflects the shift in consumer demand. People no longer simply pursue beverage - based socializing but also add high - quality yet affordable dining experiences to their list of demands.

According to the "average per - capita spend of members" disclosed in the prospectus (members contribute more than 70% of the sales), after comprehensive calculation considering non - member customers and combined with the average per - capita consumption of COMMUNE's national stores on Dianping, the average per - capita spend of COMMUNE is probably in the range of 80 - 150 yuan, allowing customers to choose according to their preferences. The pleasure of "a full meal + tipsy socializing" at a price of about 100 yuan is similar to the satisfaction of Japanese cuisine provided by the always - queuing affordable Sushiro.

In terms of expansion, in addition to core first - tier cities, COMMUNE will also penetrate into lower - tier markets. With the improvement of brand influence, it plans to gradually enter selected third - tier and lower - tier cities, such as regional central cities. "Compared with first - tier cities, these markets have lower commercial density and more advantages in rent and labor costs."

According to the plan, it is expected to open 30 - 40 new stores this year, focusing on first - and second - tier cities; add 35 - 45 new stores next year to deepen penetration into second - tier and emerging markets; and add another 40 - 50 stores in 2028 to expand coverage in major economic regions. The cumulative plan for the three years is to add 105 - 135 new stores, and the scale is expected to double.

From Hailunsi to Nayuki, brands aiming to create social spaces for young people have never stopped. The former has been abandoned by young people, and the latter has been suffering losses.

Will COMMUNE, which aims to "create a free and happy social space", have a smooth journey?