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0Erinome: Hello dear friends, and welcome back to our show! I'm Erinome.
Enceladus: And I'm Enceladus. Today, we are going to talk about a famous snack company, Liangpin Puzi.
Erinome: Oh, I know them! They call themselves the "Number One High-end Snack Brand." But I heard they are in some big trouble recently.
Enceladus: You are right. It's a very messy situation. The biggest news is about the company's owners trying to sell their shares.
Erinome: Selling shares? So, they are selling the company?
Enceladus: Yes, they tried to. But it became a huge problem. It's like they tried to sell the same thing to two different buyers at the same time. People are calling it "yi gu liang mai".
Erinome: Wow, "selling one share to two buyers"? That sounds complicated. What happened?
Enceladus: Well, the main shareholder, a company called Ningbo Hanyi, was in debt. First, they talked with a state-owned company in Guangzhou. They made an agreement in May.
Erinome: Okay, so a deal with Guangzhou. That sounds simple enough.
Enceladus: But it wasn't! The key person, the founder Yang Hongchun, didn't show up to sign the final papers.
Erinome: Oh, that's strange. So the Guangzhou deal was left hanging?
Enceladus: Exactly. Then, just two months later, in July, Ningbo Hanyi announced a new deal. This time, they agreed to sell their shares to a state-owned company in Wuhan.
Erinome: Oh no! So they just left the Guangzhou company and went to Wuhan? I can guess what happened next.
Enceladus: You bet. The Guangzhou company was very angry. They sued Ningbo Hanyi and asked the court to freeze the shares.
Erinome: So the shares couldn't be sold?
Enceladus: That's right. The court froze almost 20% of Liangpin Puzi's total shares. Because of this, the deal with the Wuhan company could not be completed.
Erinome: What a mess. So, the sale to Wuhan failed in the end?
Enceladus: Yes. In October, Liangpin Puzi announced that the plan for Wuhan's state-owned company to take control was over.
Erinome: So, after all that trouble, the original founders are still in charge?
Enceladus: Yes, but it's not a happy situation for them. The company is facing its most difficult time ever.
Erinome: You mean because of this failed sale?
Enceladus: Not just that. The reason they wanted to sell in the first place is that the business is doing very poorly.
Erinome: Really? Can you tell us more? Their stores look quite nice.
Enceladus: The numbers are quite shocking. In 2024, the company lost money for the first time in five years. And in the first half of 2025, the loss got even bigger, almost five times larger than before.
Erinome: Wow, that's a lot of money to lose. What about their stores?
Enceladus: That's another sad story. In the first six months of 2025, they closed more than 800 stores. That's like closing 11 stores every week.
Erinome: Oh no! That's so fast. Why is this happening? They used to be so popular.
Enceladus: Many people think it's because their "high-end" idea is not working anymore. Their snacks were expensive and had nice packaging.
Erinome: I remember that. But you know, now people are more careful with their money.
Enceladus: Exactly. And many new snack stores have opened. They sell snacks in large quantities for a very low price. This is a big challenge for Liangpin Puzi.
Erinome: So, what did Liangpin Puzi do?
Enceladus: They had to lower their prices. At the end of 2023, they started the biggest price cut in their history, for over 300 products.
Erinome: Did it work?
Enceladus: It's a difficult choice. When you lower prices, your profit becomes smaller. And once customers get used to low prices, it's very hard to raise them again. So, they are in a trap.
Erinome: That sounds really tough. Are there any other problems?
Enceladus: Yes. They even made a silly mistake with an AI-generated picture for an advertisement.
Erinome: Haha, what was it?
Enceladus: The picture said that "peanuts grow on trees." Many people on the internet laughed at them for not knowing basic common sense.
Erinome: That is embarrassing. It shows that maybe the management is a bit chaotic under all the pressure.
Enceladus: I think so. The company's ESG rating is also very low, almost at the bottom of the industry.
Erinome: What is an ESG rating?
Enceladus: It's a score for how well a company performs on Environmental, Social, and Governance issues. A low score is not a good sign.
Erinome: I see. So the company has problems with its business, its management, and even its reputation.
Enceladus: Yes. And the fight between the two potential buyers, Guangzhou and Wuhan, made things worse.
Erinome: It's a shame. Both buyers seemed like they could have helped the company, you know?
Enceladus: I agree. The Guangzhou company has other famous food brands. The Wuhan company is from Liangpin Puzi's hometown and has strong local resources and logistics.
Erinome: But the legal problem blocked everything. So what is the future for Liangpin Puzi?
