Zhang Tao, head of the Small and Medium City Development Department for Service Retail Division at MEITUAN-W (03690.HK) -0.600 (-0.462%) Short selling $901.66M; Ratio 15.526% , said that lower-tier cities represent a vast blue ocean market for service retail, according to Chinese media. Over the past year, more than 10,000 chain brands from higher-tier cities accelerated their expansion into lower-tier cities, with the number of new stores in lower-tier cities increasing by 66% YoY. Related NewsBOCI: Strong 618 Sales Beat, but Sustainability Concerns AriseSince 2022, MEITUAN-W's service retail deeply penetrated 284 lower-tier cities and nearly 3,000 counties nationwide, connecting with 2 million merchants. The CAGR of transaction volume exceeded 90%, while the compound growth rate of annual transaction users surpassed 60%.(HK stocks quote is delayed for at least 15 mins.Short Selling Data as at 2025-06-27 16:25.)