According to CNBC calculations, since the beginning of 2023, Meituan – the leading company in the field of food delivery in China – has lost about $ 82 billion in market capitalization amid increasingly fierce competition and warnings from the board of directors about slow growth in the main business segment.

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A Meituan driver in Beijing, China on August 22, 2023. (Photo: Bloomberg)

Meituan's market capitalization fell nearly 60% from HK$1.08 trillion (US$138.2 billion) to HK$441.06 billion (US$56.4 billion) over the same period, LSEG data showed. Meituan shares tumbled nearly 85% after peaking at HK$460 (US$58.91) on February 18, 2021, to HK$70.55 on January 9.

Still, Meituan will dominate the mainland’s online food delivery market with nearly 70% market share by 2022, according to research firm ChinaIRN. The company is facing fierce competition from rivals, especially from Alibaba’s Ele.me, a prominent name in the food delivery industry.

Feifei Shen, director of The Blueshirt Group and a frequent online food takeout orderer, said Ele.me is more aggressive and has more ways to offer coupons than Meituan. “I always feel that orders on Ele.me are cheaper. Only when there is no coupon do I think of Meituan,” she said.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2023, Alibaba's domestic services division – which includes food delivery – recorded a 16% increase in revenue thanks to strong growth from Ele.me and its travel arm Amap.

On December 19, 2023, Chinese media reported that ByteDance's Douyin was in talks to acquire Ele.me. In August 2022, Ele.me and Douyin partnered to allow stores on Ele.me to reach users of the short video app. However, ByteDance denied that it wanted to acquire the food delivery platform.

(According to CNBC)