The first Fat Donglai store in Zhengzhou will open before May Day in 2026, and the recruitment competition ratio is at least 100:1.

The opening of Fat Donglai's first store in Zhengzhou has been postponed.

On July 25th, Yu Donglai, the founder of Fat Donglai, said during a live - stream interaction that the Zhengzhou store of Fat Donglai will officially open before May Day next year (2026), which is later than the previously announced opening time before New Year's Day in 2026. According to the plan, the total area of the store exceeds 100,000 square meters, covering various business formats such as supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, gift centers, and coffee shops.

Location of Fat Donglai's first store in Zhengzhou (Source: Internet)

Regarding the recruitment situation of the Zhengzhou store, which many people are concerned about, Yu Donglai also revealed during the live - stream that the recruitment will be carried out locally in Zhengzhou before May Day next year. However, he also said that it is not easy to get into Fat Donglai, and the competition will be extremely fierce, "at least 100 to 1". Previously, there were online rumors that the store planned to recruit more than 5,000 people with an average salary of about 14,000 yuan. Subsequently, relevant personnel from Fat Donglai said that they had not received any notice yet, and all information should be subject to the official announcement.

Since becoming popular on the Internet, the competition for Fat Donglai's recruitment has been as fierce as that for civil service exams. Last year, for example, Fat Donglai conducted two public recruitments, hiring a total of 239 people. The recruitment ratio for some positions was as high as 151:1, and the ratio for jewelry salesperson positions was even as high as 230:1. Naturally, the requirements are not low either. A bachelor's degree is the basic requirement, and some positions require a master's degree or above.

Some recruitment positions and requirements of Fat Donglai in 2024 (Source: Internet)

Behind the scramble of highly - educated people is the generous treatment and welfare provided by Fat Donglai. In June this year, Yu Donglai announced that the average monthly income of more than 8,000 ordinary employees at Fat Donglai can reach 9,000 yuan, with an annual salary of about 100,000 yuan. The average annual salary of management and technical personnel can reach about 700,000 yuan. In addition, employees can enjoy 40 days of paid leave per year, as well as multiple benefits such as grievance awards and care benefits. Such high - level welfare is unique in the supermarket industry.

The high welfare comes from high revenue. In the first half of this year, Fat Donglai's total sales reached 11.707 billion yuan, with the supermarket still contributing the most, with cumulative sales of 6.35 billion yuan. Among the stores, the Times Square store ranked first with sales of 2.759 billion yuan. Regarding the net profit, Yu Donglai said that it is estimated to be 1.5 billion yuan this year, compared with about 800 million yuan last year.

Before 2025, Fat Donglai only had stores in Xuchang and Xinxiang. On February 23rd this year, Fat Donglai announced that it would open a store in Zhengzhou, which would be built into an artistic supermarket. On March 19th, the location of Fat Donglai's first store in Zhengzhou was determined to be in the underground commercial square of the east square of Zhengzhou East High - Speed Railway Station. In April, the construction of the store started. Although there were rumors of work suspension in the middle, at the end of May, relevant person - in - charge of Fat Donglai said that the project was in normal communication and had not stopped. Yu Donglai also posted on his Douyin account to refute the rumors: The Zhengzhou project is all normal! We want to contribute to the beautiful Zhengzhou!

Located at Zhengzhou East Station, a national transportation hub, Fat Donglai's first store in Zhengzhou is not just for serving Zhengzhou. Its ultimate goal is to target the whole country. Considering the consumption power in Zhengzhou and across the country, the revenue of the first store in Zhengzhou will, to a large extent, exceed that of the current Times Square store and become the top - earning store in the future.

Coincidentally, in its home base of Xuchang, Fat Donglai's business map is still expanding. On June 18th, Fat Donglai officially announced a large - scale commercial complex called "Dream City", which will start construction at the end of 2025 and is expected to be completed within 3 - 5 years. Its location is not only adjacent to the entrance and exit of the Beijing - Hong Kong - Macao Expressway but also only 1 kilometer away from Xuchang East High - Speed Railway Station. It only takes 22 minutes by high - speed rail from there to Zhengzhou East Station.

It is understood that the total construction area of the "Dream City" project is about 420,000 square meters, including three major sectors: a shopping center, a hotel, and a cultural and creative block, covering various business formats such as department stores, supermarkets, electrical appliances, jewelry, movies, restaurants, tea, video games, and hotels. In Yu Donglai's words, this is a "5 - billion - yuan plan for the well - being of humanity".

Rendering of "Dream City" (Source: Official)