This article only represents the author's own views.
A new upside profit alert from Jiumaojiu International Holdings Ltd. (9922.HK) continues a recent trend among Chinese restaurants that are bouncing back strongly from a huge blow during some of China’s strictest-ever pandemic controls last year. But the rebound has been far from even for consumer-facing companies throughout China.
Nearly all such companies bounced back nicely in the first two months of the year, as Chinese consumers embarked on a wave of “revenge spending” with the end of the country’s strict “zero Covid” policy at the end of 2022. But a dichotomy has emerged since then, reflecting growing caution by Chinese consumers amid the country’s economic slowdown.