Yu Donglai (Simplified Chinese: 于东来, 1966- ) is a Chinese businessman from

Xuchang Xuchang ( zh, s=, t= ; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe ...

Henan Province Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Luo ...

. He is the founder of

Pangdonglai Pangdonglai (lit. “fat Donglai” Simplified Chinese: 胖东来, Traditional Chinese: 胖東來) is a retail corporation founded in March 1995 by Yu Donglai (于东来). It operates a chain of malls and grocery stores and is headquartered in ...

Career

Yu Donglai was born in 1966 in Xuchang. He graduated from Xuchang No. 7 Middle School and worked various jobs including scalping movie tickets, selling peanuts, and ice pops. In 1984, he started working at a rubber factory, but lost his job when the factory closed down. In 1995, with the help of his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, he opened a tobacco shop with an area about 40 square meters. In August 1997, Yu Donglai renamed his store to "Pangdonglai Tobacco and Alcohol Co., Ltd. (胖东来烟酒有限公司)". From 2000, Yu Donglai distributed company shares to employees, retaining only 10% for himself. In 2006, Pangdonglai opened a branch in

Xinxiang Xinxiang ( zh, s= , t= , p=Xīnxiāng ; Postal romanization, postal: Sinsiang) is a prefecture-level city in northern Henan provinces of China, province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to its southwest, Kaifeng to its sou ...

. As of 2022, Pangdonglai has more than 30 chain stores in Henan Province, with more than 8,000 employees.

References

{{reflist 1966 births Businesspeople from Henan Living people