Post Mart
Post Mart was a China Post-backed rural retail and distribution venture supplying consumer goods through China's village postal network.
Last updated August 26, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Post Mart was a joint-venture retail and distribution brand created by China Post Group and the U.S.-owned China Horizon Investments Group to serve consumers in rural China. Rather than building an entirely new store network, the venture was designed around China Post's extensive physical infrastructure, including village postal stations, distribution centers and established delivery routes. Its central proposition was to use postal locations as a route to market for everyday consumer products in areas that were comparatively underserved by modern retail and formal distribution. The venture followed a multi-year pilot program and received regulatory approvals for the China Horizon–China Post joint venture in September 2015. The joint venture had registered capital of RMB 1 billion and was licensed to use the China Post brand. Post Mart initially established a sales and delivery system in Henan, a large central Chinese province with more than 50,000 village postal stations. The stated expansion plan was to extend the model nationally and reach ten provinces within five years. Its assortment focused on routine household consumption rather than specialist goods. Products described in public material included cooking oil, rice, household supplies, personal-care items and beverages such as Coca-Cola. The assortment was intended to combine Chinese brands, international brands and Post Mart's own-brand products. The business also operated the Post Mart Emerald Club, a loyalty program intended to support repeat purchasing and customer retention. Post Mart was connected to a broader strategy of expanding consumption and distribution in rural China. China Post brought a nationwide postal and logistics platform, while China Horizon Investments Group was established to invest alongside major Chinese entities, particularly state-owned enterprises, in projects linked to domestic consumption. The model therefore combined state-linked infrastructure with private investment and consumer-goods distribution. The venture's public history was complicated by a legal dispute. In January 2016, China Horizon Investments sued China Post, alleging fraud and breach of contract concerning the venture. The available reference material does not establish the final outcome of that litigation, nor does it provide reliable evidence about Post Mart's later operating status, national rollout, revenues or current ownership. Post Mart should therefore be treated as a historically documented joint-venture brand with an uncertain present status rather than as a confirmed active nationwide retailer.
History
Post Mart emerged from a collaboration between China Post Group and China Horizon Investments Group, an investment firm founded by Alan Clingman in January 2007 to pursue opportunities connected with China's expanding domestic consumption. China Horizon's stated approach was to work alongside major Chinese organizations, especially state-owned enterprises, while China Post contributed the infrastructure and institutional reach of China's national postal system. The Post Mart concept was tested through a multi-year pilot program. Its underlying model was to convert existing postal facilities and logistics routes into a channel for distributing fast-moving consumer goods to rural households. This approach was significant because China Post already operated a broad network of village postal stations and distribution facilities, potentially allowing the venture to reach communities where conventional supermarket chains and commercial delivery systems had less penetration. Regulatory approvals for the China Horizon–China Post joint venture were granted in September 2015. The venture was established with registered capital of RMB 1 billion and received authorization to use the China Post brand. Post Mart subsequently established a route-to-market sales and delivery system in Henan. Public descriptions identified more than 50,000 village postal stations in the province and presented Henan as the initial base for a broader rollout. The stated ambition was to expand into ten provinces within five years. The operating proposition combined wholesale, retail and delivery functions. Post Mart planned to make everyday goods available through the postal network, including rice, cooking oil, household supplies, personal items and beverages. Its range was described as containing Chinese brands, international brands and products sold under its own label. The company also introduced the Post Mart Emerald Club loyalty program, apparently as a mechanism for encouraging repeat purchases and building a customer relationship in the communities served by the network. Post Mart's development was interrupted or complicated by a dispute between its venture partners. In January 2016, China Horizon Investments sued China Post, alleging fraud and breach of contract relating to the joint venture. The available source material does not document the final disposition of the case, the extent of the planned provincial rollout, or whether the brand continued operating after the dispute. It also does not provide dependable current information about management, revenue, store numbers or commercial ownership. Consequently, the documented history supports describing Post Mart as a China Post-associated rural consumer-goods venture launched in the mid-2010s, while its later status remains uncertain.
- 2016
China Horizon files a lawsuit against China Post
[1]China Horizon Investments sued China Post, alleging fraud and breach of contract related to the Post Mart venture.
- 2015
Joint-venture approvals are granted
[1]Regulatory approvals were granted for the China Horizon–China Post joint venture. The venture had registered capital of RMB 1 billion and a license to use the China Post brand.
- 2015
Henan route-to-market system is established
[1]Post Mart established its initial sales and delivery system in Henan and outlined a plan to expand to ten provinces within five years.
- 2007
China Horizon Investments Group is founded
[1]Alan Clingman founded China Horizon Investments Group to invest in Chinese domestic-consumption projects alongside major Chinese entities, including state-owned enterprises.
Products and positioning
A rural China consumer-goods retailer and distribution platform built around China Post's village postal-station and logistics network.
Consumer goods distribution · 2015
Everyday consumer goods
Post Mart's core assortment consisted of routine household necessities intended for rural consumers. Public descriptions include rice, cooking oil, household goods, personal items and beverages. The range was designed for distribution through China Post's village postal stations and related logistics network, and included Chinese brands, international brands and Post Mart private-label products.
Loyalty program
Post Mart Emerald Club
The Emerald Club was Post Mart's customer-loyalty program. It was intended to support repeat purchasing and customer engagement as the venture developed its rural retail and distribution network.
Controversies
Brand decisions
2015
Build a rural retail platform on the China Post networkStrategyBackground
The venture sought to reach rural consumers without constructing an entirely new distribution footprint, using China Post's village postal stations, distribution centers and delivery routes.
Action taken
Post Mart established a sales and delivery system in Henan and planned a national expansion reaching ten provinces within five years.
Aftermath
The public record documents the initial Henan operation and expansion plan, but does not confirm whether the planned rollout occurred.
Sources3 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/post-mart · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled