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Gree Electric Chairwoman Dong Mingzhu stepped down on September 16 as legal representative and executive director of Gree E-Commerce Co., Ltd., with presidential assistant Zhang Xinglei taking over. This marks at least the fourth wholly-owned subsidiary where Dong has relinquished core management roles over the past year-plus, following earlier exits from chip, electronic components, and prepared-food equipment subsidiaries. Zhang Xinglei concurrently serves as legal representative of Zhuhai Gree Digital Technology Co., Ltd. and regional digital technology companies across Anhui, Guangxi, Shaanxi, Fuzhou, and other locations, taking full charge of the channel digitalization network Gree has rapidly built over the past two years. Gree Electric posted first-half 2026 revenue of 89.398 billion yuan (approximately $13.3 billion), down 8.15% year-on-year, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 13.278 billion yuan (approximately $2.0 billion), down 7.87%. Domestic sales maintained modest positive growth while export sales declined notably.
Key Elements
Gree Electric (000651.SZ) Chairwoman Dong Mingzhu has once again relinquished a core management role at a wholly-owned subsidiary. According to China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, Gree E-Commerce Co., Ltd. completed a legal representative change on September 16, with Dong Mingzhu no longer serving as legal representative and executive director. Zhang Xinglei has taken over as legal representative and will serve as director and manager responsible for executing company affairs.
This marks at least the fourth wholly-owned subsidiary within the Gree group where Dong Mingzhu has stepped down from legal representative and executive director roles over the past year-plus. What sets this transition apart is the heightened attention surrounding her successor Zhang Xinglei—he is not merely taking over the e-commerce business, but is comprehensively assuming control of the network of regional digital technology companies Gree has rapidly established over the past two years.
Corporate registration records show Zhang Xinglei currently serves as legal representative of Zhuhai Gree Digital Technology Co., Ltd., as well as Gree digital technology companies in Anhui, Guangxi, Shaanxi, Fuzhou, and multiple other locations. In May of this year, he participated in the 2025 annual results briefing in his capacity as presidential assistant of Gree Electric, where he addressed questions regarding refrigerator, washing machine, and home appliance sales as well as channel efficiency.
Management Succession Behind the Flurry of Departures
Gree E-Commerce Co., Ltd. was established in November 2019 with registered capital of 100 million yuan (approximately $14.9 million), wholly owned by Gree Electric. Its business scope covers internet sales, domestic trade agency services, and special equipment sales. Gree Electric’s 2026 interim report still includes the company in its consolidation scope, with its business nature classified as wholesale and retail, and both shareholding and voting rights at 100%.
Public corporate registration records show that Dong Mingzhu’s subsidiary-level role adjustments have accelerated notably since 2025. In June 2025, she stepped down as legal representative and chairwoman of Zhuhai Zero-Boundary Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd., succeeded by Gree Electric Vice President Li Shaobin. In January 2026, she relinquished her roles as legal representative and executive director of Zhuhai Gree Electronic Components Co., Ltd., with Fang Xiangjian taking over. In May 2026, she stepped down from Zhuhai Gree Prepared-Food Equipment Technology Development Co., Ltd., with Li Dequan assuming the roles. Combined with the latest e-commerce subsidiary change, Dong Mingzhu has now completed management handovers across multiple new business segments including chip R&D, electronic component manufacturing, prepared-food equipment, and e-commerce channels.
This series of changes traces back to the board reshuffle in April 2025. At that time, Gree Electric’s extraordinary general meeting elected Dong Mingzhu as chairwoman of the 13th board of directors, beginning her fifth three-year term at the helm of Gree, but she no longer concurrently served as president, with Zhang Wei taking over that role. The division of responsibilities at the headquarters level was adjusted first, then gradually extended to various business subsidiaries.
Dong Mingzhu has publicly expressed support for management rejuvenation on multiple occasions. At the 2024 annual general meeting, she stated, “I will speak less and give young people more opportunities.” At the 2025 annual general meeting, she reiterated that the frequent changes were intended to enable “both upward and downward mobility,” finding one’s place between “up” and “down” so that young teams can be cultivated.
Zhang Xinglei’s Channel Portfolio
Compared with Dong Mingzhu’s departure itself, Zhang Xinglei’s role within Gree’s channel system warrants greater attention.
Gree Electric’s 2024 annual report shows that in December of that year, the company successively established Gree Digital Technology (Jieyang), Gree Digital Technology (Hunan), Gree Digital Technology (Hebei), Gree Digital Technology (Henan), and other entities. The pace accelerated significantly in 2025. Gree Electric’s 2025 annual report discloses that between January 2 and January 22, 2025 alone, the company successively established 23 regional digital technology companies in Xuzhou, Shanxi, Shandong, Shenzhen, Foshan, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Shanghai, Ganzhou, Hubei, Nanchang, Anhui, Yunnan, Dongguan, Guizhou, Xiamen, Liaoning, Guangxi, Hainan, Beijing, Shaanxi, Chongqing, and Tianjin; in March of the same year, it also established Gree Digital Technology (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. The two annual reports together disclose 28 newly established regional digital technology companies.
These companies’ business scopes generally include home appliance sales, installation services, daily-use appliance retail, and internet sales. Taking Gree Digital Technology (Fuzhou) Co., Ltd. as an example, its public information shows the company is responsible for market development, product sales, and channel management for Gree residential air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, kitchen and water heating products, and small appliances in the Fujian region.
At the May 28 results briefing, Zhang Xinglei reported that as of that date, Gree’s refrigerator, washing machine, and home appliance sales revenue had grown more than 20% year-on-year. On channel efficiency, Gree has established a three-tier intelligent logistics fulfillment network comprising “base warehouses + regional warehouses + front-end micro-warehouses,” reducing turnover cycles by 20% and cutting overall logistics costs by more than 100 million yuan in 2025. The company is simultaneously advancing digitalization across sales, terminal operations, fulfillment, and service functions.
Industry insiders note that, based on the backgrounds of those who have assumed core subsidiary roles, the new managers mostly possess years of frontline technical or business experience within the Gree group. Zhang Xinglei has previously been responsible for business operations within Gree’s channel system for many years and is familiar with online channel traffic dynamics, user operations, and supply chain coordination logic. His direct oversight of the e-commerce subsidiary means Gree’s online business decision-making chain is further shortened, potentially accelerating market response speed.
E-Commerce and Offline Channels Remain Deeply Tied to the Dong Mingzhu IP
Although Dong Mingzhu has exited Gree E-Commerce’s management, sales channels bearing her name continue to operate.
Douyin platform data shows that Gree Electric’s two primary livestream commerce accounts—Gree Mingzhu Select (2.81 million followers) and Gree Dong Mingzhu Health Home (710,000 followers)—are both registered under Gree E-Commerce. Gree Electric’s 2026 interim report also indicates the company continues to coordinate the “Gree Dong Mingzhu Store” online mall, offline self-operated channels, and a multi-platform livestream matrix for marketing. In the first half of this year, Gree also completed construction of a home appliance livestream industrial park in Zhuhai, encompassing livestream studios, content creation, host incubation, and data operations functions.
Offline channels likewise continue to use Dong Mingzhu’s name. The interim report shows that since Gree launched “Dong Mingzhu Health Home” in 2025, the company has continued expanding store count in the first half of this year, with nationwide stores surpassing 1,500.
Tianyancha data shows that as of September 20, 2026, Dong Mingzhu is associated with 23 enterprises, of which 9 remain active and the rest have been deregistered. She still holds chairwoman positions at 5 companies. This exit from the e-commerce subsidiary’s management does not affect her role as chairwoman of the listed company Gree Electric. Gree Electric’s 2026 interim report discloses the current management roster, showing Dong Mingzhu as chairwoman and Zhang Wei as director and president.
Channel Integration Under Earnings Pressure
Gree Electric’s 2026 interim report shows first-half revenue of 89.398 billion yuan (approximately $13.3 billion), down 8.15% year-on-year, with net profit attributable to shareholders of 13.278 billion yuan (approximately $2.0 billion), down 7.87%. Domestic main-business revenue was 72.512 billion yuan (approximately $10.8 billion), up 1.90% year-on-year, while export revenue was 12.744 billion yuan (approximately $1.9 billion), down 21.98% year-on-year.
From a revenue structure perspective, Gree’s domestic market foundation remains stable, with domestic sales posting modest positive growth, indicating that the core home appliance business retains channel resilience and a solid user base in the Chinese market. The notable decline in export revenue reflects intensifying competition in overseas home appliance markets and short-term pressures from trade environment fluctuations in certain regions. Against the backdrop of a phased adjustment in overall revenue, the decline in net profit attributable to shareholders was smaller than the revenue decline, suggesting the company’s profitability remains relatively stable.
Meanwhile, Gree continues to advance channel system adjustments. The company’s 2026 interim report states it has formed 30 regional sales companies, more than 20,000 sales outlets, and over 30,000 professional service points; online, it continues to push forward with self-operated channels, instant retail, and its livestream matrix. Zhang Xinglei’s comprehensive assumption of regional digital technology companies and the e-commerce subsidiary comes at a critical juncture in Gree’s channel digitalization integration.
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