Abstract:
After Jia Guolong became "low-key" after experiencing the pre-made dish controversy, the blogger "Li Ji" with more than 5.4 million fans recently posted several Weibo posts to "stand out" for Xibei. On September 19, "Liji" published an article saying that Xibei will be completely bankrupt in two to three months at most. Jia Guolong will personally take over most of the debt and give up his shares, leaving about 100 profitable stores to be run by his employees.
As for the rumors circulating online that it is about to close down, Xibei responded that stores across the country are currently operating normally and the brand will continue to provide good products and services, calling on the public to treat online information rationally.
The next day, "Liji" posted another blog saying that Xibei had sued Luo Yonghao and the case was about to go to court. As of press time, Luo Yonghaofang has not responded to the relevant remarks of "Li Ji".
On September 20, Jia Guolong, who had not been seen for a long time, attended the event and gave a speech on stage. He implored regulatory authorities to further clarify the boundaries of speech for high-traffic online accounts and distinguish between normal public opinion supervision, debate of opinions, and malicious derogation, commercial slander, and soft online violence.
In fact, after experiencing the crisis of prepared dishes, Xibei's vitality was severely damaged, and the number of brand stores dropped sharply by 169 in a year.
In order to reduce costs and "stop the bleeding," Jia Guolong also "swung a knife" to attack employees. According to Xinhuanghe, employees of Xibei’s Beijing branch have been notified that they will be on standby until the end of this year. During this period, Xibei will pay job-waiting benefits according to the local minimum wage standard of 2,540 per month, and pay five social insurances and one housing fund.
It is worth mentioning that Tianyancha shows that recently, the approximately 5.4 million shares of Xibei directly held by Jia Guolong’s wife Zhang Liping have been pledged, and the pledgee is the Hohhot Ruyi Development Zone Branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Co., Ltd.
It was revealed that Xibei will go bankrupt and has sued Luo Yonghao. Jia Guolong’s latest appearance
On September 19, the topic "Xibei is revealed to be completely bankrupt" was trending on Weibo, and the former leading catering brand was once again pushed to the forefront of public opinion.
On the same day, the blogger "Li Ji" with more than 5.4 million fans broke the news on Weibo, saying that he learned about three weeks ago that "in at least two or three months, Xibei, which has ranked first in Chinese dinner for 11 consecutive years and has grown in scale, revenue, and profit for 11 consecutive years (as of September last year), will be completely bankrupt."
"Liji" stated that Jia Guolong will personally take over most of the debt and give up his shares, leaving more than 100 profitable stores for employees to operate themselves, trying to maintain the livelihood of 3,000-4,000 people.
The blogger also said that as of now, there are more than 200 stores in Xibei, and the number of employees who have had to be laid off and unemployed has exceeded 10,000. "This is an irreversible fact, and there is no point in saying anything else."
In response to the news that "Xibei will completely close down" spread online, Xibei customer service responded to the media that stores across the country are currently operating normally, and the brand will continue to provide good products and services, calling on the public to treat online information rationally.
Looking back at the current business crisis facing Xibei, the source can be traced back to the "prepared dish crisis" that broke out in September last year.
At that time, Luo Yonghao, who had just gotten off the plane, posted on Weibo after having a meal of Xibei with his colleagues, "I found that almost all of the dishes were pre-made and so expensive. It was really disgusting."
Faced with Luo Yonghao’s online complaints, Xibei founder Jia Guolong refused to be outdone and firmly stated that he “will definitely sue Luo Yonghao.”
Subsequently, the two started a "war of words" that attracted the attention of the entire Internet. Subsequently, as the incident gradually came to an end, Xibei was also "severely injured."
According to the aforementioned blogger "Li Ji", before September last year, Xibei had maintained very healthy growth for 11 consecutive years. After September last year, "everything changed" and Xibei suffered a "devastating blow."
A detailed chart of net sales published by "Liji" shows that from October to December last year, Xibei Catering Group's net sales fell by 48.8%, 44.5% and 47.4% year-on-year respectively.
In fact, after the pre-made dish controversy broke out, Xibei did experience a decline in sales and a sharp decrease in customer flow.
On September 12 last year, Jia Guolong revealed in an interview with "Chinese Entrepreneur", "Yesterday (11th) and the day before yesterday (10th), the daily turnover of all stores dropped by 1 million yuan each. Today (12th) I estimate that it will drop 2 million to 3 million yuan."
At the beginning of this year, Jia Guolong revealed to the media that from September 2025 to March 2026, Xibei’s cumulative losses are expected to exceed 600 million yuan.
At noon on September 20, "Liji" posted on Weibo again, "Do you know why he (Wu Jialu, head of public relations for Luo Yonghao's team) suddenly jumped out last month? Because Xibei sued Luo Yonghao and a trial was about to begin. He came out to manipulate public opinion and put pressure on the court."
"Liji" also said that Luo Yonghao's recent sudden encounter with Mr. Savage killed two birds with one stone. On the one hand, it was related to Zhong Xuegao's comeback, and on the other hand, he wanted to tamper with history and create a public opinion trend of "I am just a consumer complaint."
In the face of many comments recently published by "Liji", Luo Yonghaofang has not responded as of press time.
According to Chao Angle, on September 20, Jia Guolong, who had not appeared in public for a long time, attended a public event and gave a speech on stage.
Jia Guolong said in his speech: "Cyber attacks are rampant and we must protect the stable business environment of private enterprises. From the perspective of private entrepreneurs, combined with this painful lesson in Xibei, I have some insights and appeals."
Jia Guolong proposed that, first, we urge regulatory authorities to further clarify the boundaries of speech for high-traffic online accounts and distinguish between normal public opinion supervision, debate of opinions, and malicious disparagement, commercial slander, and soft online violence.
He also mentioned: "For accounts with huge traffic, after disputes occur, they bypass legitimate legal channels such as industry administrative complaints, mediation, and litigation, and instead openly incite public opinion on the Internet, offer rewards to build momentum, accuse people to provoke war, and even implicate the parties' partners."
The number of stores dropped sharply by 169 in a year, and some employees were notified to wait until the end of the year
Faced with the continued pressure of losses, Xibei chose to reduce costs to "stop the bleeding." The "first step" in cost reduction was made in stores.
In January this year, a copy of Xibei’s internal meeting information and store closure list circulated online showed that Xibei will close 102 stores across the country at one time, accounting for about 30% of its total stores, involving a total of about 4,000 employees.
Subsequently, Jia Guolong posted on WeChat Moments, confirming that the news of store closures was true, and said, "The 102 stores closed this time have been completed in the first quarter, and all employees who had to leave will not lose a penny in salary."
Jihai brand monitoring data shows that Xibei once had 397 stores across the country, but after September last year, the number of brand stores dropped sharply.
As of September 21, the number of Xibei’s operating stores has decreased by 169 to 228, 302 stores have been monitored for closure, and 16 new stores have been closed in the past 90 days.
After the crisis, Jia Guolong wanted to take over the employees and resources after the Xibei main brand closed its stores by building a new brand. However, the new brand "Tianbian Claypot Braised Noodles" founded by Jia Guolong was also recently exposed to be closed.
On September 19, Blue Whale News conducted an on-site visit and found that the Shanghai Dongfang Road store of "Tianbian Clay Pot Noodles" has ceased operations and the store sign has been removed.
It is reported that the store was formerly the Xibei flagship store with the largest area in Shanghai. It has only been in operation for five months since its opening in April.
According to Xinhuanghe, on September 17, the "Tianbian Clay Pot Noodles" Hohhot Horticulture Store, which had been operating for about half a year, was also revealed to have suspended operations. In addition, the Beijing Cuiwei Impression City store is currently suspended, while the Beijing Fengke Wanda store has undergone business adjustments.
In response, a relevant person from Xibei said, "This is a single store planning adjustment. The rest of Tianbian Clay Pot Noodles stores across the country are operating normally, and we will continue to polish our products and services."
As for the "second cut" of cost reduction, Jia Guolong targeted his employees. According to Xinhuanghe, employees of Xibei's Beijing Pinggu branch have been notified that they will be on standby until the end of this year.
In a "Waiting Notice" obtained by Xinhuanghe, the branch stated that its business volume has dropped significantly recently, and the company currently has no normal work content to arrange and is facing huge losses. In order to reduce expenses and protect the legitimate rights and interests of employees, the company decided to put this employee on standby after research.
The "Waiting Notice" shows that the employee's waiting period will be from August 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026. There is no need to attend work during the waiting period. The company will pay the waiting salary according to the local minimum wage standard of 2,540 yuan/month, and pay five insurances and one fund.
After the waiting period expires, the company will inform employees of follow-up arrangements based on business recovery and job requirements.
It is worth mentioning that in March this year, a "Notice of Availability" for Xibei employees leaked online. The period of employment was from March 3, 2026 to August 31, 2026, and the signature was also "Inner Mongolia Xibei Catering Group Co., Ltd. Beijing Pinggu Branch".
The founder’s wife has pledged all her 5.4 million shares, and Xibei’s valuation may be less than 1.5 billion yuan
Following the topic of "Xibei is revealed to be completely bankrupt" is the news that Jia Guolong's wife Zhang Liping pledged the company's equity.
Tianyancha shows that on September 2, Inner Mongolia Xibei Catering Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Xibei") added a piece of equity pledge information. The pledger is Zhang Liping, and the pledgee is the Hohhot Ruyi Development Zone Branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Co., Ltd. The amount of pledged equity is approximately 5.4 million yuan.
According to shareholder information, Zhang Liping directly holds about 5.2% of Xibei's shares and has subscribed capital of about 5.4 million yuan. In other words, Zhang Liping has pledged all the Xibei shares he directly holds.
However, Radar Finance noticed that Zhang Liping also indirectly holds about 8.17% of Xibei’s shares through multiple investment platforms.
The number of stores has plummeted, employees have been forced to lay off their jobs, and the founder's wife has pledged her equity... Various signs seem to suggest that Xibei, the brand that carries Jia Guolong's catering dream, is already standing on the edge of the cliff.
Going back to 2002, Jia Guolong opened the first Xibei Noodle Village in Liuliqiao, Beijing. Under the leadership of this Inner Mongolia catering giant, Xibei continues to grow bigger and bigger.
By 2023, the overall revenue of Xibei Catering Group will exceed 6.2 billion yuan, setting a record high. At the same time, the high-spirited Jia Guolong also showed his "ambition" to lead Xibei to hit the capital market.
In his New Year's message that year, Jia Guolong made it clear that Xibei will complete its IPO in 2026; by 2030, Xibei will achieve the strategic goal of exceeding 100 billion in revenue and reaching the top of the brand.
However, the sudden crisis of prepared dishes disrupted Jia Guolong's original plan. After the storm broke out, when Jia Guolong discussed Xibei's IPO plan again, he said that he would not reject it, but he would not set a goal. "It is more important to do well than to be big. Customers like us and employees recognize us, which is more important than anything else."
It is worth mentioning that due to the impact of the pre-made dish controversy, Xibei’s current valuation may have shrunk significantly.
In April 2025, Xinchao Media, one of Xibei's shareholders, reached a wholly-owned acquisition transaction with Focus Media, an A-share listed company. The latter planned to acquire 100% of Xinchao Media's equity by issuing shares and paying cash. After the transaction is completed, the corresponding beneficial shareholders of Xibei will be converted into Focus Media.
According to the biennial audit report of Xinchao Media disclosed by Focus Media on August 27, in 2025, Xinchao Media invested a total of 100 million yuan in Xibei, corresponding to a 1% shareholding. Based on this calculation, Xibei’s valuation at that time was approximately 10 billion yuan.
However, the audit report also disclosed that the 100 million yuan investment has accumulated losses of 85.31 million yuan, which means that the book value is only 14.69 million yuan. Based on this, Xibei's valuation may have shrunk to 1.469 billion yuan.
As 3/4 of 2026 is about to pass, Jia Guolong seems to be getting further and further away from realizing Xibei’s goal of landing in the capital market and achieving 100 billion in revenue.
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