What is the ending of the home boss?

Author | Zhao Pu

Edit丨Gao Yan

Source | Wild Horse Finance

Red Star Macalline (601828.SH), a "leading enterprise" of home furnishing chain stores, has revealed another big news!

On the evening of May 13, Red Star Macalline revealed that the company's founder and general manager Che Jianxing was investigated by the Yunnan Provincial Supervision Commission and detention measures were implemented. Red Star Macalline said that in order to ensure the smooth progress of the company's daily operations, the company's chairman Li Yupeng will perform all the duties of the general manager.

Public information shows that Che Jianxing was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu in 1966. In 1991, he invested more than 1 million yuan to establish the first large furniture franchise shopping mall in Changzhou, "Red Star Furniture City". In the following two years, he founded five Red Star Furniture City in Changzhou, and since then he embarked on the road of furniture chain management.

In 2015 and 2018, Red Star Macalline was listed on the Hong Kong stock market and A-share market, respectively, becoming a leading company in the home furnishing industry. In October 2018, Che Jianxin ranked 61st on the 2018 Hurun Rich List with a wealth of 38.5 billion yuan.

Source: Canned Gallery

But the good times did not last long. With the expansion of business, Red Star Macalline's debt scale also increased simultaneously, and cash flow gradually became scarce. In 2023, due to the intensification of the debt crisis, Che Jianxing transferred the controlling stake of Red Star Macalline to Jianfa Co., Ltd. (600153.SH). In August 2023, Che Jianxing resigned as the legal representative and chairman of Meikelong, but still served as general manager.

What attracted market attention was that in March, the news that Gao Shuang, the former female president of Red Star Macalline, was sentenced to three years in prison, five years of probation, and a fine of 200,000 yuan for the crime of embezzlement. Among them, Che Jianxing's testimony became the key testimony in the conviction of Gao Shuang's case.

"Wilm Finance" noticed that the Gao Shuang case was first filed when Che Jianxing planned to sell his equity to Jianfa Group in 2023, and Che Jianxing was also given administrative penalties by the Ministry of Finance in 2024. From the timeline, after Red Star Macalline changed its controlling shareholder, the investigation and punishment of former executives such as Che Jianxing and Gao Shuang also followed.

It is worth noting that since Jianfa Co., Ltd. (600153.SH) "taken" in 2023, Red Star Macalline has been losing more than two consecutive years, and has continued to lose money in the first quarter of this year, and the year-on-year losses have increased.

According to the 2024 financial report of Jianfa Co., Ltd., Red Star Macalline achieved a "net profit attributable to shareholders" of -3.046 billion yuan in 2024, and the "net profit attributable to shareholders" contributed to Jianfa Co., Ltd. was -903 million yuan.

Against the backdrop of reducing the size of the original shopping mall, Red Star Macalline is making efforts to adjust the commodity format, introduce new business format brands such as new energy vehicles, leisure and entertainment, education and training, and sports, and even establishing new energy vehicle companies to focus on auto retail in order to achieve the transformation goal.

However, Red Star Macalline's short-term debt pressure is still relatively high, and cash flow depends on major shareholders' "blood transfusions to quench thirst". As of May 14, Red Star Macalline's stock price was 2.91 yuan per share, with a total market value of 12.67 billion yuan. Can the "leader of home furnishing stores" complete the transformation and turn losses into profits as soon as possible?

After the "Jianfa Group" took over, several senior executives were investigated.

Why was Che Jianxing detained by the Yunnan Supervision Commission?

Che Jianxing was investigated and detained by the Yunnan Supervisory Commission this time, which attracted special attention from the market.

"Wilm Finance" noticed that Che Jianxing has plans for home squares, real estate, cultural tourism and other projects in Yunnan, and has mostly equity cooperation with local state-owned enterprises.

Red Star Macalline entered Yunnan in 2011 and created the "Red Star Macalline Kunming Supreme MALL" in the Hongxing Business Circle on Guangfu Road, South City, Kunming, and was subsequently upgraded and renamed "Red Star Macalline Yunnan Province No. 1 Store".

By 2021, Red Star Macalline has opened 7 shopping malls in Yunnan, distributed in Kunming, Zhaotong, Chuxiong, Dali and other cities. At that time, Red Star Macalline also planned to open a total of 15-20 shopping malls in Yunnan Province in the next 3 to 5 years.

Source: Canned Gallery

In addition, in the 2022 financial report, Red Star Macalline also disclosed that the company's subsidiaries include Yunnan Red Star Macalline Home Furnishing Life Plaza Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 80 million yuan, and Kunming Red Star Macalline Expo Home Furnishing Plaza Co., Ltd., with a registered capital of 5 million yuan.

Tianyan Check shows that one of the shareholders of these two companies is Yunnan Shunqi Park Management Co., Ltd., which is controlled by Yunnan Kanglu Holding Group Co., Ltd. and a state-owned enterprise under Yunnan Province.

In addition, Red Star Macalline subsidiaries also include Kunming Deakin Trading Co., Ltd., one of its shareholders is Kunming Dianchi Investment Co., Ltd., which is a state-owned enterprise in Kunming.

In addition, Red Star Macalline also has affiliated companies in Yunnan, including Yunnan Red Star Macalline Real Estate Co., Ltd., Yunnan Yuanzepinwei Property Management Co., Ltd., Kunming Yuanhonghui Real Estate Co., Ltd., etc.

According to the 2022 financial report, Yunnan Hongxing Macalline Real Estate Co., Ltd.'s end-of-period accounts receivable are about 4.0315 million yuan, all of which are treated with bad debts; in addition, Hongxing Macalline also has contractual liabilities of about 2.5541 million yuan to Kunming Yuanhonghui Real Estate Co., Ltd.

In addition, Che Jianxing and other senior executives were investigated and punished by the sale of Red Star Macalline controlling stake in 2023, and the earliest one to be tracked down was the original female president Gao Shuang.

On January 17, 2023, due to the intensification of the debt crisis, Hongxing Macalline Holdings, the actual controller Che Jianxing and Jianfa Co., Ltd. signed a "Share Transfer Agreement", stipulating that Jianfa Co., Ltd. will acquire 29.95% of the shares of Meikaron held by Hongxing Holdings at a price of 4.82 yuan per share, with a total transaction consideration of approximately 6.286 billion yuan.

However, the above agreement was finally changed to the acquisition of 23.95% of the shares by Jianfa Co., Ltd., and the acquisition of 6% of the shares by MediaTek Group (a subsidiary of Jianfa Co., Ltd.). It should be pointed out that Jianfa Co., Ltd. and Lianfa Group are both core subsidiaries of Jianfa Group, and the actual controller of Jianfa Group is Xiamen State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

On June 21, 2023, the above shares completed the transfer registration, Jianfa Shares held 23.95% of Meikaron's shares, MediaTek Group held 6% of the shares, and Jianfa Shares became the controlling shareholder of Red Star Macalline.

Source: Enterprise Warning Pass

Gao Shuang's case is happening during the above-mentioned equity acquisition period. On May 24, 2023, Gao Shuang was arrested and criminally detained the next day, arrested on June 30 of the same year, and released on bail on July 7 of the same year.

In addition to Gao Shuang, Che Jianxing, the former chairman of Red Star Macalline, was also punished.

In March 2024, the Ministry of Finance imposed an administrative penalty of 20,000 yuan on Che Jianxing. The reason was that accounting errors occurred in two properties in Hongxing Macalline in Beijing and Hangzhou, resulting in over-calculating financial indicators such as investment real estate of 2.475 billion yuan and undistributed profit of 1.426 billion yuan at the beginning of the year in 2022, and under-calculated fixed assets of 852 million yuan and main business costs of 28.8652 million yuan.

It is understood that at that time, the property located at No. 701 Gudun Road, Hangzhou, a subsidiary of Hongxing Macalline, a subsidiary of Hongxing Macalline, was located at No. 701 Gudun Road, Hangzhou, and the property located at No. 1 Beishatan, Chaoyang District, Beijing, under the name of Hongxing Macalline Global (Beijing) Furniture and Building Materials Plaza Co., Ltd., located at No. 1 Beishatan, Chaoyang District, Beijing, did not meet the conditions clearly required by "Enterprise Accounting Standard No. 3 - Investment Real Estate" that "investment real estate should be measured and sold separately" and should not be used as investment real estate accounting.

Due to the above issues, the Ministry of Finance not only fined Che Jianxing, but also fined Xi Shichang, the former head of accounting work of Red Star Macalline, Xi Shichang.

"Wilm Finance" noticed that after the acquisition of Zijianfa Co., Ltd. and MediaTek Group, Red Star Macalline's board of directors and financial teams made personnel adjustments.

Currently, members of the "Jianfa Group" occupy 5 seats among the board of directors, and the current head of finance Yang Yingwu is also from Jianfa.

After solving historical problems, personnel adjustments and other measures, Red Star Macalline has further improved and strengthened internal control compliance.

Details of the original female president's crime were exposed.

Che Jianxing provides key testimony

In the case of investigating and punishing Red Star Macalline executives, Che Jianxing's "repeated confession" in Gaoshuang's case attracted attention.

The "criminal ruling" shows that Gao Shuang was born in Huaian City, Jiangsu Province and was the executive president of Red Star Macalline Home Furnishings. She has worked at Red Star Macalline since February 2019, mainly responsible for related projects in the southwest region, and is also responsible for the related work of Red Star Macalline affiliated companies in accordance with the arrangements of the chairman.

At that time, the controlling shareholder of Red Star Macalline was still Red Star Macalline Holdings Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Red Star Holdings"). Red Star Holdings signed an investment agreement with the Chongqing Bishan District Government, agreeing that Red Star Holdings will complete a foreign investment of US$100 million.

In September 2021, Che Jianxing, chairman of Hongxing Holdings, authorized Gao Shuang to fully handle this business, and Gao Shuang became one of the main leaders of Hongxing Holdings' investment in the TOD large-scale urban complex project in Bishan District.

Afterwards, Gao Shuang met the intermediary Yuan Mou1 through unemployed person Xie, and used his full authority to be responsible for the task of introducing foreign capital. After knowing that the business expenses required by Yuan Mou1 were far lower than those of other investors, he discussed with Xie and others and agreed with Yuan Mou1 in private that Yuan Mou1's party would help Hongxing Holdings complete the $30 million introduction task, and charge a service fee of 13% of the amount of imported foreign capital, that is, $3.9 million.

Yuan Mou 1 returned 3% of it (900,000 US dollars) to Gao Shuang and others. Later, Gao Shuang and Yuan Mou 1 held specific cooperation negotiations in Jiangbei District, Chongqing. After negotiation, they reported it to Hongxing Holdings according to the 13% service fee standard, and promised to share the additional 3% service fee with Xie Mou 7.

Under Gao Shuang's encouragement, Hongxing Holdings signed a contract with Yuan Mou 1, with the agreed service fee standard of 13%. Hongxing Holdings paid Yuan Mou 1 a total of US$3.9 million in service fees.

In November 2021, Gao Shuang arranged for Xie to go to Shenzhen to retrieve the 3% service fee agreed in advance from Yuan Mou 1. Then Yuan Mou 1 paid 5.01 million yuan (the amount after deducting taxes and fees) to Xie by cash and bank transfer. After receiving the money, Xie transferred 3.493 million yuan to Gao Shuang and Gao Shuang's designated accounts (his mother Li and cousin Zhang 1), and Xie himself received 1.517 million yuan.

On May 24, 2023, the defendant Gao Shuang was arrested by the police while cooperating with the public security organs to investigate other cases. On the same day, the defendant Xie was arrested and brought to justice. After the incident, Gao Shuang voluntarily returned 3.493 million yuan, and Xie voluntarily returned 1.517 million yuan.

It is worth noting that Gao Shuang's defense lawyer once proposed that Gao Shuang's 3% service fee was increased as a reward and obtained the consent of Che Jianxing, chairman of Hongxing Holdings, and did not subjectively have the purpose of illegally occupying the company's property. But Che Jianxing denied the matter.

Che Jianxing signed a statement on March 4, 2024, saying that "Gao Shuang verbally mentioned that 3% of the cost of this cooperation payment was used as a reward... and verbally agreed to Gao Shuang's report request."

But on March 8, 2024, before the judicial authorities intervened, Che Jianxing "refuses" and denied the authenticity of the March 4 statement. When he was subsequently questioned by the investigative and public prosecution agencies, Che Jianxing proved that he had never agreed to give Gao Shuang a 3% reward.

In addition, from the perspective of the capital flow process, after Red Star Holdings paid 13% of the service fee to Yuan Mou 1, Xie went to Shenzhen to retrieve part of the cash and bank transfer from Yuan Mou 1. If Red Star Holdings agrees to reward Gao Shuang with a 3% service fee, they can pay it directly. There is no need to transfer through Yuan Mou 1. Even in order to leave the account, there is no need to withdraw large amounts of cash.

The trial held that Gao Shuang and Xie adopted this abnormal method to obtain funds, with the real purpose of evading investigation and covering up their crimes.

Red Star Macalline continues to lose money,

Plan to borrow 9.5 billion yuan from Jianfa

At present, Jianfa Co., Ltd. and MediaTek Group have "taken" Red Star Macalline for two years, but Red Star Macalline is still in a loss.

On April 29, Red Star Macalline's first quarter financial report for 2025 showed that the company's revenue was 1.62 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 23.5%; net profit attributable to shareholders expanded from a loss of 372 million yuan in the same period last year to a loss of 513 million yuan; net profit attributable to shareholders excluding non-operating items expanded from a loss of 119 million yuan in the same period last year to a loss of 218 million yuan; net operating cash flow was -112 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.1%.

Financial report data shows that in 2023 and 2024, Red Star Macalline has suffered losses for two consecutive years, with its net profit losses of 2.216 billion yuan and 2.983 billion yuan respectively.

Source: Canned Gallery

Regarding the continued losses in the first quarter of this year, Red Star Macalline said that the decline in revenue and profit losses were due to the company's continued investment in the preferential treatment of stabilizing business and retaining business, and the unit rental income decreased; at the same time, the number of shopping malls decreased compared with the same period last year; and the number of projects in other business segments of the company decreased, and the progress slowed down, which led to a year-on-year decline in the company's operating income.

As of the end of the first quarter of 2025, Red Star Macalline had total assets of 116.5 billion yuan and total liabilities of 67.65 billion yuan; of which 4.89 billion yuan of cash funds, 1.907 billion yuan of short-term loans, and 6.169 billion yuan of non-current liabilities due within one year, and the debt repayment pressure is still relatively large.

Source: Oriental Fortune Network

Red Star Macalline said that in order to meet the company's working capital turnover needs and improve the company's capital use efficiency, the company plans to apply for loans from its controlling shareholder Jianfa Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries, its joint ventures and its associates, and signed a "Borrowing Framework Agreement" with Jianfa Co., Ltd., with a total loan amount of 9.5 billion yuan. Currently awaiting approval from the shareholders' meeting.

Yan Yuejin, deputy director of Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, analyzed that after Jianfa Co., Ltd. "taken" in 2023, Red Star Macalline has significantly adjusted its development strategy and shopping mall category layout, actively introduced categories such as home improvement and new energy vehicles, and implemented rent reduction and exemption discounts for some merchants, resulting in a temporary decline in the company's related income.

As of December 31, 2024, Red Star Macalline operated 77 self-operated shopping malls, 257 commissioned shopping malls with different management depths, and operated 7 home furnishing malls through strategic cooperation.

Compared with the 2022 before Jianfa Co., Ltd. "taken", the average occupancy rate of Red Star Macalline fell by 2.2% to 83%, reducing 17 self-operated shopping malls, 27 committee-managed shopping malls, and 1 strategic cooperative shopping mall. 24 franchise home building materials projects have also been reduced. The number of home building materials stores/industrial streets has been reduced from 476 to 405, and the number of cities covering has been reduced from 223 to 202, and the total operating area has been reduced by about 9.7%, and it is currently about 20.3257 million square meters.

Source: Canned Gallery

Yan Yuejin said that although the scale of Red Star Macalline has been reduced, these are also active adjustments made by the company for transformation. However, during the adjustment process, companies should pay special attention to combining stimulus consumption policies to improve their income status, and investors should still pay general attention to the company's operating status.

At present, Red Star Macalline is focusing on studying cooperation in new business formats and brands, discovering leading companies in the categories of leisure and entertainment, education and training, sports, wedding photography, hotels, and supermarkets, and reaching close cooperation. In 2024, the operating area of ​​Red Star Macalline's new business format (including automobiles, catering, etc.) was 910,000 square meters, an increase of 286,000 square meters year-on-year.

In terms of new energy vehicle formats, Red Star Macalline also established Shanghai Jianmei Smart Auto Service Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the investment and operation of the new energy vehicle sector, and released the "3100 Plan" for the automobile format, that is, a plan to incubate a new track of the automobile format within three years, and the total operating area of ​​the automobile format exceeds 1 million square meters. As of the end of 2024, Red Star Macalline has cooperated with 25 auto brands and has laid out 26 cities, with an operating area of ​​164,000 square meters, an increase of 60,000 square meters year-on-year.

In addition, Tianyan Check shows that Red Star Macalline has also established Chongqing Red Star Macalline Tonghui Home Furnishing Co., Ltd. through indirect wholly-owned shares, with its business scope including "new energy vehicle sales; new energy vehicle electrical accessories sales; automobile sales; automobile spare parts retail, etc.".

Red Star Macalline said that with the reduction of stimulus policies such as mortgage interest rates, taxes and fees, and consumer goods trade-in, the company's industry has received continuous support, and related consumer demand has ushered in a bottoming out rebound. The company will seize the opportunities of industry development and strive to improve operational efficiency and improve operating performance.

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