In March of this year, a franchise store under the Sichuan maternal and child brand "Baby King" caused a scandal and attracted attention. According to local media reports, the involved store, the Sino German British City Store of the Infant King, has been closed due to a surge in prepaid card recharge, involving more than 400 consumers, and the amount involved may exceed one million yuan.

On June 26th, Upstream News (reporting email: cnshangyou@163.com ）The reporter learned from multiple victimized mothers that after some mothers sued the store managers Li and three others, as well as Sichuan Yingzhihuang Maternal and Child Products Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yingzhihuang Company), in mid June, the Chengdu High tech Zone Court made a ruling that the store in question, knowing that it did not have the ability to ship or repay, still collected pre deposited payments from consumers, involving a large number of people and a large amount of money, suspected of criminal offenses, and transferred the case to the public security organs.

Before and after the store in question changed its signage. Photo provided by the interviewee

On the afternoon of the 26th, the reporter repeatedly called the three responsible persons of the involved store, but no one answered. The staff of the Chengdu High tech Zone Court stated that the court transferred the case to the High tech Zone Public Security Bureau via confidential mail on June 24th.

Over 400 consumers have been scammed, with cases involving over a million people

The business registration name of the Sino German British city-state store of the involved baby emperor is High tech Zone British Baby Emperor Maternal and Child Products Store. Tianyancha shows that the store was established in February 2023 with a registered capital of 100000 yuan and operated by Mr. Zhu.

Ms. Zhou lives near the store. She told Upstream News reporters that in September 2025, she saw a milk powder that her own children often drink on the shelves of the store. "The price is similar to what I bought online. Firstly, the sign is' King of Infants', which is quite well-known in Sichuan. Secondly, I feel that the physical store's supply is guaranteed. Thirdly, I can pick it up anytime near home, so I ordered 13 cans of milk powder for the first time (buy 2 and get 1 can free)

Ms. Zhou said that in mid December last year, she saw Zhu's son-in-law, Mr. Li, posting on his social media account that buying milk powder would give him a membership voucher, spending 200 yuan to exchange for one voucher, "35 scooters could be exchanged for, 85 electric heaters could be exchanged for", and there were also multiple welfare and promotional activities.

On December 20, 2025, Ms. Zhou spent 7680 yuan to order 30 cans of milk powder (buy 4 and get 6 cans free). In January 2026, due to her child no longer drinking this formula, Ms. Zhou applied for a refund based on the store's previous promise of "refunds for those who cannot finish drinking, and exchange for the price difference". However, Li delayed due to reasons such as the payment already being submitted to the company and the need to go through procedures. He promised refunds by the end of the month and after the year, but has not fulfilled them until March 2026.

On March 24th, the involved store posted a notice saying 'closed for learning from the 25th to the 26th', which Ms. Zhou believed to be true at one point. It was not until March 27th when a friend informed her that the store had changed its sign that she realized it was suspected of being a "thunderstorm".

Screenshot of chat records between Ms. Zhou and store manager Li. Photo provided by the interviewee

The reporter learned that mothers have also been victimized in many parts of China, such as Henan, Hebei, Xinjiang, and Guangxi. Ms. Feng from Shangqiu, Henan Province said that in November 2025, she saw a video posted online by a mother claiming that the milk powder she bought was cheap and guaranteed. After a private message, she recommended Li's WeChat account to her.

Li often posts shipping information on his WeChat Moments, and his wife Bi has even received a performance benchmark from the Baby Emperor branch. After observing for a period of time, Ms. Feng spent 3360 yuan to order 15 cans of milk powder (buy two and get three cans as a gift), "On average, each can is about 40 yuan cheaper than buying locally

The first time she received the goods, she only received two cans. The store replied that cross regional sales can only send two cans at a time, and if there are too many, she will be fined. Ms. Feng said that as of late March, she still had six cans of milk powder that she had not received.

Ms. Wang from Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, said that on March 5th this year, she placed an order for 15 cans of milk powder from Li for 2988 yuan (buy two and get 3 cans free). "Li promised to ship within 3 days, but after urging for three days, she sent a false tracking number. I only sent two cans after requesting a refund, citing that cross regional sales would result in fines

Ms. Wang, who was worried about being tricked, decisively demanded a refund from Li, but unexpectedly the other party tried to evade for various reasons. Our local police station also called Li, but we still couldn't get a solution, "Ms. Wang said. Around March 27th, she posted on an online rights protection group," There were only a few dozen people in the morning, but by the afternoon, there were three to four hundred people

According to local media reports, according to preliminary consumer statistics, more than 400 users were affected this time, with recharge amounts ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of yuan, and the total amount may exceed one million yuan. Some consumers have recharged 80000 yuan to purchase low-priced milk powder, but there is still a balance of 30000 yuan that has not been consumed. Since January, the merchant has refused to issue milk powder for various reasons.

The brand claimed to have detected operational risks in the store and terminated its franchise relationship in January of this year

Ms. Zhou and several local mothers in Chengdu told Upstream News reporters that from March 27th to 28th, the local community organized a group of victimized mothers to negotiate with Li and others. "After Li arrived, he claimed that he had no goods or money and asked everyone to sign a refund agreement

As for the reason for the change of the store's signboard, Ms. Zhou and others stated that on March 27th, Yingzhihuang Company issued a "Trademark Use Right Termination Letter" to the involved store, requiring the store to terminate the use of all materials with the "Yingzhihuang" logo within 3 days and cease related business activities.

According to the photos provided by Ms. Zhou, the original sign of the involved store was "Baby King Baby King Sino German British City Store", which was later renamed as "British Baby King Maternal and Child Products Store". However, on June 26th, during on-site visits by reporters, it was found that the sign of the "British Baby King Maternal and Child Products Store" had also been removed, and advertisements such as "landlord direct rental" and "shop for sale" were posted on the door.

A notice posted at the entrance of the shop on April 18th showed that the property owner claimed that their lease agreement with the original tenant, Mr. Bi, would be officially terminated on April 27th. The property owner of the shop had never participated in any business activities related to the mother and baby shop, and any consumer disputes or debt disputes with the mother and baby shop operator, Mr. Bi, were not related to the property owner.

The reporter made multiple phone calls to Li, but as of the time of writing, they were unable to connect. The reporter dialed the phone numbers of Bi and Zhu, and it showed that the phone was out of service. According to the China Execution Information Disclosure Network, Li and his wife Bi were listed as executed persons by the Shuimogou District Court of Urumqi in February 2023, and were issued a consumption restriction order in July of the same year.

Screenshot of the friend circle of store manager Bi. Photo provided by the interviewee

The reporter noticed that on March 28th, Yingzhihuang Company issued a statement stating that the company had terminated its franchise cooperation with the involved stores on January 22nd. The two parties were only in a supply relationship, and the franchise stores operated independently and were responsible for their own profits and losses. At the same time, the statement stated that they are cooperating with relevant departments to urge store managers to communicate with consumers to solve problems.

According to a brief introduction submitted to the court by the Infant Emperor Company obtained by the reporter, the company signed a contract with Bi in February 2023 for a franchise store in the Sino German British City in the High tech Zone. On October 30, 2025, the two parties re signed the contract, and the operators of the involved stores were Zhu, Bi, and Li.

In January 2026, two customers reported that the store did not ship as agreed. Our company immediately contacted Li, who explained that it was a shipment from a different location and was worried about being punished by the manufacturer. Therefore, they requested the customer to send back the empty cans first and then arrange for subsequent shipments. The company claimed that due to the manufacturer's requirement that the company's goods should not be sold across provinces, the company had already realized that there were business risks in the store. On January 22, 2026, the cooperation with the involved store was terminated, and a "Notice of Termination of Franchise Contract" and a "Notice of Termination of Trademark Use Rights" were delivered to the other party.

As for why the statement was only released on March 27th and 28th, 2026, Ying Zhi Huang Company stated that it was because more consumers complained about the store's delayed delivery after receiving payment, and the company realized that Li may have engaged in business activities with the purpose of "selling at low prices to make money".

The Infant Emperor Company stated that they had been requesting Li to replace the store sign, but due to the fact that the sign was made at their own expense, it was inconvenient to forcibly replace it. After multiple communications and strong demands, Li finally agreed to the replacement.

The Infant Emperor Company stated that it has never issued any form of stored value cards, recharge cards, or prepaid cards in the name of its headquarters. The recharge behavior reflected by consumers is all offline collection by the store itself, which belongs to Li's personal business behavior, and the headquarters has not collected any related payments; The company only provided inventory management software to the store, and Li received payment offline and recorded it on the mini program for easy customer inquiry; The operational data analysis report captured by the company's software backend also confirms that there has never been any online recharge order data.

The court has ruled that the case is suspected of a criminal offense and transferred it to the public security organs

Ms. Zhou and others claimed that in early April, under the coordination of the community, some mothers signed a refund agreement with Li, agreeing to refund the money within one month. "However, when the deadline was up, Li and others lost contact again." In addition, mothers also complained through various channels and reported to the local police station. "The police said that the store's financial chain was broken and could not continue to ship, and this situation is an economic dispute that will not be accepted

Helpless, Ms. Zhou and others filed a lawsuit with the Chengdu High tech Zone Court, demanding that Zhu, Bi, Li, and the involved stores return the payment, and also demanding that Yingzhihuang Company assume supplementary compensation liability. Ms. Zhou and others stated that they ordered milk powder at the affected store out of trust in the "Emperor of Infants" brand. "Emperor of Infants said it terminated its franchise relationship on January 22nd, but the affected store continued to use the Emperor of Infants logo until March 27th

On June 5th, Ms. Zhou's lawsuit was heard in the High tech Zone Court, and the three individuals involved, Li, Bi, and Zhu, were absent from the trial.

The statement released by the Infant Emperor Company on March 28th. Screenshot of Social Accounts

Yingzhihuang Company defended that it was not a party to the sales contract involved in the case, and that the company granted the franchise stores involved the use of the "Yingzhihuang" brand logo based on the brand authorization in the contract, which is a normal commercial franchise behavior. The company is not at fault for the losses incurred by the plaintiff, but rather for the plaintiff's failure to fulfill their reasonable duty of care as a rational consumer. The plaintiff's request for the company to assume supplementary liability lacks legal basis.

Yingzhihuang Company also stated that the "Yingzhihuang" brand does not have a high level of popularity, and the milk powder purchased by Ms. Zhou is not "Yingzhihuang" brand milk powder. "From the perspective of the plaintiff's overall consumer psychology, the core of determining whether the plaintiff will consume at the maternal and child store in question is: whether the store's geographical location is close to their place of residence; whether the milk powder brand of the store has the brand that the plaintiff wants to choose; and whether the promotional discounts are sufficient. As long as the above three conditions are met, whether the maternal and child store itself is called" Yingzhihuang "or" Haizhihuang "or any other name does not affect the plaintiff's decision

The Infant Emperor Company stated that in this case, Li used promotional methods far below market prices to collect large prepayments from numerous consumers. His behavior was clearly premeditated and deceptive, and he was also a victim of Li's fraudulent behavior.

The court of Chengdu High tech Zone believed after hearing that when the stores involved had obvious business difficulties, Mr. Li and Mr. Bi still publicized the recharge consumption activities through WeChat, Little Red Book and other channels, and collected consumers' deposits through Mr. Zhu, Mr. Li and Mr. Bi's Alipay and WeChat collection code. After collection, they failed to deliver the agreed goods to consumers as agreed. When Zhu, Li, and Bi knew that they did not have the ability to ship or repay, they still collected pre deposited payments from consumers, involving a large number of people and a large amount of money, suspected of criminal offenses. The case is being transferred to the public security organs.

On June 12th, the Chengdu High tech Zone Court made a ruling to dismiss Ms. Zhou's lawsuit. Several other mothers who filed lawsuits told reporters that their lawsuits were also rejected, and the court ruled to transfer the case to the public security organs.

On June 26th, Upstream News learned from the Chengdu High tech Zone Court that the court had transferred the case to the High tech Zone Public Security Bureau via confidential mail on June 24th.

Upstream News Reporter Li Wentao

Editor: Xu Yuanzhe Editor: Lang Qingxiang, Zhou Shangdou Reviewed by: Wang Rong

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