Citigroup believes that Qianbaidu's first-half results are not satisfactory, which is basically similar to that of its peers 01880-HK and 00210-HK. The company's management is as cautious about the outlook for the third quarter as its peers, hoping to offset some of the weak performance in July and August in the peak September season. The more positive news is that the sales of autumn clothes in the second half of August are better than those of summer clothes, and the sales of winter clothes in September and October are the key to affect the annual performance.

Taking into account the deteriorating retail environment, Citi lowered its profit forecast for 2013 by 39% to 48.4%, but adjusted the market earnings growth ratio to the historical average (1.2 times), so the target price was raised from 2.7 yuan to 3.1 yuan, with a "buy" rating.