Latest news with #Laopu
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Forget Cartier: Made-in-China Luxury Captivates Chinese Consumers
Well-off Chinese used to chase Western luxury bags and jewelry as symbols of status. Now, in a challenge to the likes of Cartier and Yves Saint Laurent, they are turning to homegrown brands. Little-known in the West, names such as Laopu, Mao Geping and Songmont are winning over Chinese customers with a pitch that combines locally inspired designs and cultural pride. Beijing auditor Zhou Linanfang, 35, noticed long lines outside a store selling Laopu gold jewelry from her hospital room last year when she was about to give birth. Her social-media feeds added to the buzz around the brand. Zhou, like many in her generation, considered gold jewelry unfashionable but changed her mind after seeing the filigree flower rings, gourd-shaped pendants and phoenix hairpieces in Laopu designs. Soon after the arrival of her baby boy, her husband lined up at a Laopu store in Beijing for an hour to buy her a butterfly-shaped pendant for $1,600. 'It's just stylish,' Zhou said. 'Now that we have luxury gold pieces, as someone who loves fashion, how could I not get one?' Also taking notice are Western luxury-brand CEOs such as Johann Rupert, chairman of Cartier parent Richemont. He was asked in May whether Laopu was a threat. The brand is 'tied to nationalism and tied to patriotism, and they have a lot of wins in their favor,' Rupert said. However, he added, 'Cartier is universal.' For Hermès, the resale value of its bags remains an advantage over Chinese rivals. Sales of luxury products in mainland China, mostly Western brands, fell around 20% last year to less than $50 billion, according to consultants at Bain. They said China accounted for about one in eight dollars spent on luxury globally. For the year ended March 2025, Richemont's sales in China fell 23%. Laopu listed its shares in Hong Kong last year and its stock surged, giving the company a market capitalization of more than $15 billion. By contrast, shares of Gucci owner Kering have declined more than 20% compared with a year earlier as the China growth hopes that formerly drove luxury shares have faded. In June, NBA player Victor Wembanyama was seen wearing Laopu's signature gourd-shaped pendant at a sports-card show in New York after visiting China. Uncertain economy Zhou said she liked the idea of buying gold jewelry because it might retain its value better in an era of growing economic uncertainty. She said she no longer bought a luxury handbag or jewelry every six months like she used to. 'I might lose my job tomorrow, so I definitely need to cut back,' she said. Laopu's chairman, Xu Gaoming, told shareholders in April that the company has carved out a niche with little direct competition. Chinese gold jewelry makers aim for the mass market, while European fine jewelers don't specialize in gold. Laopu's black-and-white stores offer a minimalist ambience, while pampering customers as they wait with Evian water and Godiva chocolate. A Laopu store in Beijing. As those perks suggest, European brands still have a cachet that is hard to match. People in the luxury business said the Chinese brands might even serve as a feeder to get younger consumers interested in luxury. Vanessa Piao, a luxury-bag reseller in China, said more buyers are treating their purchases as an investment, and they often prefer prestigious names such as Hermès, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. 'They are happy to pay $20,000 for a Birkin 25 because they can resell it in a few years without losing much,' Piao said, referring to the Hermès bag. 'They won't pay that money for a luxury bag or any fashion item from a domestic brand, no matter how exquisite and rare it is, because that, to some, is the equivalent of throwing $20,000 down the drain.' Big names, big prices Sophia Zhang, 32, was a loyal customer of Lancôme and Estée Lauder until she became a fan of Mao Geping, the namesake brand of a Chinese makeup artist. Its cream and foundation typically cost half or less the price of the international brands. A 100-gram jar of its signature moisturizer costs $139, compared with $280 for a smaller jar of a top-of-the-line Lancôme moisturizer. 'In the past I figured I'd splurge on skin care, believing those big names were the best, and I'd dismiss local products just because they were cheaper,' said Zhang, who, like Zhou, said she still buys some European brands. Now that she has found a less-expensive alternative that suits her, she said, 'it'll be tough to go back.' Backstage at a Mao Geping show during Beijing Fashion Week. China is also developing some accessible luxury brands priced comparably to Coach and Michael Kors. One is Songmont, known for its simple and modern designs in products such as a $529 shoulder bag. Twelve-year-old Songmont was co-founded by Fu Song and Wang Jie, designers who graduated from China's top art schools. Some of their first products, with Chinese brocade linings depicting auspicious Chinese motifs like dragons, phoenixes and butterflies, were fashioned by Fu's grandmother and other craftspeople in western Shanxi province. Like many other niche brands around the world, Songmont emphasizes sustainability and its sourcing of threads and oils for its leather bags from Germany and Italy. Its stores incorporate pine trees and rocks, and it brought on tennis star Li Na to promote the brand to channel a bold vibe. The next question is whether the Chinese brands can go global. Shein and Temu have succeeded in e-commerce with rock-bottom prices on mostly Chinese-made goods, and some Americans have taken to Labubu, the viral troll-like toy from China's Pop Mart. Laopu, the jewelry retailer, opened its first overseas store in Singapore in June and will venture to Japan next, but a person close to the company questioned whether Western consumers were ready to embrace marketing based on traditional Chinese culture and aesthetics. Bain consultant Claudia D'Arpizio said Labubu's success suggested Gen-Z consumers were open to buying Chinese. However, she said, 'for more of the core high-end luxury customers in the U.S. and in Europe, made-in-Europe is still very important.' Write to Shen Lu at Forget Cartier: Made-in-China Luxury Captivates Chinese Consumers Forget Cartier: Made-in-China Luxury Captivates Chinese Consumers
CNBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
China's Laopu Gold shares fall despite forecast of tripling profits
Shares of Laopu Gold fell to their lowest levels since May 20 after the Chinese jewelry upstart forecasted its net profit for the first half of 2025 would increase between 279% and 288% year over year, or between RMB 2.23 billion and RMB 2.28 billion ($311.11 million to $318.08 million). The stock, which is up 203.07% for the year to date, rose nearly 4% in early trade, but pared back gains as investors locked in their profits. While shares of Laopu Gold are on course for their ninth straight session of decline, they have skyrocketed by more than 2,000% since their listing last year. The Hong Kong-listed company also reported in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Sunday that its projected revenue for the first half of the year would increase between 241% and 255% from the same period last year. Concerns over rising gold prices and market downgrades in earning expectations have caused the stock to fall from its peak in early July, Morgan Stanley analysts said in a research report on Monday. Citi analysts also attributed the retreat in Laopu's share price to a reset in market expectations and "unwinding fund flow," adding that the stock appears relatively cheap. However, consulting firm Oliver Wyman said that Laopu's earnings are less tied to fluctuations in gold prices, unlike traditional jewelers, due to the designs of its products, which blend ancient craftsmanship with contemporary appeal. The Chinese jewelry brand was founded in 2009 and is popular among younger consumers for its distinctive designs, including ancient coin pendants and lotus motifs. "We believe Laopu's current valuation has become more attractive in the past three weeks despite the company's intact growth story", Nomura analysts said in a report. The Beijing-based company attributed the increase in its top and bottom lines to the brand's expansion online and through offline boutiques. Laopu has boutiques in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and opened its first overseas store at Singapore's Marina Bay Sands in June. Laopu's success contrasts with more tepid consumer spending in China. Affluent Chinese are more negative on the economy than they were during the pandemic, according to a survey released last week by Oliver Wyman. The report found that many respondents are shifting their spending away from luxury goods toward experiences, such as travel. Similarly, Labubu-maker Pop Mart had issued an upbeat profit forecast for the first half of 2025 earlier this month, but initially dropped on the news. Pop Mart shares are up by 175.74% year-to-date. In contrast, shares of Chinese sportswear company Anta have increased by 17.15% so far this year. The company's said in a filing that it achieved "mid-single digit positive growth" for house brand products and "high-single digit positive growth" for Fila-branded products for the first half of this year.
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Forget Cartier: Made-in-China luxury captivates Chinese consumers
China's Laopu, which specializes in gold jewelry, sees a gap in the European-led luxury market. Well-off Chinese used to chase Western luxury bags and jewelry as symbols of status. Now, in a challenge to the likes of Cartier and Yves Saint Laurent, they are turning to homegrown brands. Little-known in the West, names such as Laopu, Mao Geping and Songmont are winning over Chinese customers with a pitch that combines locally inspired designs and cultural pride. Beijing auditor Zhou Linanfang, 35, noticed long lines outside a store selling Laopu gold jewelry from her hospital room last year when she was about to give birth. Her social-media feeds added to the buzz around the brand. Zhou, like many in her generation, considered gold jewelry unfashionable but changed her mind after seeing the filigree flower rings, gourd-shaped pendants and phoenix hairpieces in Laopu designs. Soon after the arrival of her baby boy, her husband lined up at a Laopu store in Beijing for an hour to buy her a butterfly-shaped pendant for $1,600. 'It's just stylish," Zhou said. 'Now that we have luxury gold pieces, as someone who loves fashion, how could I not get one?" Also taking notice are Western luxury-brand CEOs such as Johann Rupert, chairman of Cartier parent Richemont. He was asked in May whether Laopu was a threat. The brand is 'tied to nationalism and tied to patriotism, and they have a lot of wins in their favor," Rupert said. However, he added, 'Cartier is universal." For Hermès, the resale value of its bags remains an advantage over Chinese rivals. Sales of luxury products in mainland China, mostly Western brands, fell around 20% last year to less than $50 billion, according to consultants at Bain. They said China accounted for about one in eight dollars spent on luxury globally. For the year ended March 2025, Richemont's sales in China fell 23%. Laopu listed its shares in Hong Kong last year and its stock surged, giving the company a market capitalization of more than $15 billion. By contrast, shares of Gucci owner Kering have declined more than 20% compared with a year earlier as the China growth hopes that formerly drove luxury shares have faded. In June, NBA player Victor Wembanyama was seen wearing Laopu's signature gourd-shaped pendant at a sports-card show in New York after visiting China. Zhou said she liked the idea of buying gold jewelry because it might retain its value better in an era of growing economic uncertainty. She said she no longer bought a luxury handbag or jewelry every six months like she used to. 'I might lose my job tomorrow, so I definitely need to cut back," she said. Laopu's chairman, Xu Gaoming, told shareholders in April that the company has carved out a niche with little direct competition. Chinese gold jewelry makers aim for the mass market, while European fine jewelers don't specialize in gold. Laopu's black-and-white stores offer a minimalist ambience, while pampering customers as they wait with Evian water and Godiva chocolate. A Laopu store in Beijing. As those perks suggest, European brands still have a cachet that is hard to match. People in the luxury business said the Chinese brands might even serve as a feeder to get younger consumers interested in luxury. Vanessa Piao, a luxury-bag reseller in China, said more buyers are treating their purchases as an investment, and they often prefer prestigious names such as Hermès, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. 'They are happy to pay $20,000 for a Birkin 25 because they can resell it in a few years without losing much," Piao said, referring to the Hermès bag. 'They won't pay that money for a luxury bag or any fashion item from a domestic brand, no matter how exquisite and rare it is, because that, to some, is the equivalent of throwing $20,000 down the drain." Sophia Zhang, 32, was a loyal customer of Lancôme and Estée Lauder until she became a fan of Mao Geping, the namesake brand of a Chinese makeup artist. Its cream and foundation typically cost half or less the price of the international brands. A 100-gram jar of its signature moisturizer costs $139, compared with $280 for a smaller jar of a top-of-the-line Lancôme moisturizer. 'In the past I figured I'd splurge on skin care, believing those big names were the best, and I'd dismiss local products just because they were cheaper," said Zhang, who, like Zhou, said she still buys some European brands. Now that she has found a less-expensive alternative that suits her, she said, 'it'll be tough to go back." Backstage at a Mao Geping show during Beijing Fashion Week. China is also developing some accessible luxury brands priced comparably to Coach and Michael Kors. One is Songmont, known for its simple and modern designs in products such as a $529 shoulder bag. Twelve-year-old Songmont was co-founded by Fu Song and Wang Jie, designers who graduated from China's top art schools. Some of their first products, with Chinese brocade linings depicting auspicious Chinese motifs like dragons, phoenixes and butterflies, were fashioned by Fu's grandmother and other craftspeople in western Shanxi province. Like many other niche brands around the world, Songmont emphasizes sustainability and its sourcing of threads and oils for its leather bags from Germany and Italy. Its stores incorporate pine trees and rocks, and it brought on tennis star Li Na to promote the brand to channel a bold vibe. The next question is whether the Chinese brands can go global. Shein and Temu have succeeded in e-commerce with rock-bottom prices on mostly Chinese-made goods, and some Americans have taken to Labubu, the viral troll-like toy from China's Pop Mart. Laopu, the jewelry retailer, opened its first overseas store in Singapore in June and will venture to Japan next, but a person close to the company questioned whether Western consumers were ready to embrace marketing based on traditional Chinese culture and aesthetics. Bain consultant Claudia D'Arpizio said Labubu's success suggested Gen-Z consumers were open to buying Chinese. However, she said, 'for more of the core high-end luxury customers in the U.S. and in Europe, made-in-Europe is still very important." Write to Shen Lu at
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Forget Cartier: Made-in-China Luxury Captivates Chinese Consumers
Well-off Chinese used to chase Western luxury bags and jewelry as symbols of status. Now, in a challenge to the likes of Cartier and Yves Saint Laurent, they are turning to homegrown brands. Little-known in the West, names such as Laopu, Mao Geping and Songmont are winning over Chinese customers with a pitch that combines locally inspired designs and cultural pride.
Business Times
17-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
What is Laopu Gold? Its stock soared 2,000% and now it's opened a store in Marina Bay Sands
[SINGAPORE] Up-and-coming Chinese jewellery label Laopu Gold has made waves in the past year with both consumers and investors alike. There has been rapidly rising demand for its offerings – and a stock price that has soared more than 2,000 per cent since its blockbuster Hong Kong listing at an initial public offering price of HK$40.50 last year. Currently, it is at HK$874.50 as at Wednesday's close. Analysts are getting bullish on the stock, and one fund manager has trounced more than 90 per cent of his peers by buying into Gen Z-favoured names such as Laopu Gold. Now, the jeweller is expanding outside of China and has selected Singapore as its first destination, with the opening of its first international boutique at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) marking a key milestone in the brand's ambitious regional expansion strategy. The Singapore store, which has drawn long queues during peak hours, is the first of four planned outside of China, according to Chinese news media. That is as the company positions itself as a serious contender to global names. It plans to open a store in Japan, but the two other locations have not been confirmed. A Bloomberg article in July cited analysts saying that Laopu poses a 'serious threat' to Western luxury brands. The owner of Cartier, Richemont, has warned investors about Laopu's rise, according to reports. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The Singapore store The Singapore store opened on Jun 21, with its location just outside the MBS casino. Long queues formed during the weeks following its opening. The store features a product selection based on the existing range, with pricing broadly in line with those at stores in China, UOB KayHian analysts noted. It also launched a new Gold Cross series for the store opening, incorporating Christian elements. 'The company's Singapore store recorded a two-hour wait time during peak time, with a higher proportion of local customers compared to the tourist-heavy Hong Kong and Macau stores, according to management,' said Nomura in a note on Jul 3. 'Management highlighted that future design direction remains rooted in Chinese aesthetics with heritage gold craftsmanship, but international designers have also been introduced to elevate the product's premium/international perception,' it added. Unlike the Singapore store, its store in Tokyo will focus on promoting cultural exchange with non-Chinese communities and emphasising finely crafted gold jewellery tailored to local aesthetic preferences, said UOB KayHian analysts. A different kind of gold business What sets Laopu apart is fundamentally its pricing model. Unlike traditional Chinese jewellers that price by weight and link daily pricing to international gold markets, Laopu uses a fixed-price model that factors in design, symbolism and craftsmanship. Its exclusivity is drawn in part from a strategy pulled from the playbook of its Western competitors. Rising gold prices have pushed investors towards bullion and coins, and gold jewellery sales in China fell around 24.7 per cent to 532 tonnes. But Laopu twice raised prices on its designer jewellery. The business again upped prices of these goods by 5 to 12 per cent last month, said a Reuters report. Laopu is eschewing the spot price for gold to which other domestic competitors peg their selling rates, charging a premium for design and branding. Nomura highlighted, citing Laopu's management, that its pricing mechanism involves at least two annual price increases, with no reductions even if gold prices fall. 'Management believes that fixed pricing and its proprietary gold designs... could help decouple product pricing from gold price fluctuations. This, according to management, will help maintain Laopu's gross margin trend in the long term,' said Nomura. Founded in 2009 by Xu Gaoming – then a government clerk in Hainan's fisheries department – Laopu Gold was officially established as a brand in 2016. It focuses on traditional Chinese designs and craftsmanship. Products include jewellery, ornaments, tableware and seasonal gifts, with a strong emphasis on high-end, goldware pieces marketing at luxury-level branding. Laopu's financials A source with direct knowledge of Laopu's business said its annual sales approached 10 billion yuan (S$1.8 billion) in 2024, up from 3.18 billion yuan in the previous year, said a Reuters report. 'Laopu's average store revenue is nearly 300 million yuan, compared with the average single-store revenue of most international jewellery brands in China, which generate around 100 million yuan to 200 million yuan annually,' the source said. Its gross profit margin has also been stable, at above 40 per cent for three years prior to its first-half 2024 review, according to Phillip Securities Hong Kong. A bigger trend? Laopu's rise underscores a larger shift in Chinese brands muscling in on the global scene, such as electric vehicle giant BYD and toy maker Pop Mart. One such brand is Seres Group, an automaker once best known for its 30,000 yuan minivans, which has overtaken BMW and Mercedes-Benz Group to become China's hottest high-end automaker, with its Aito M9 sport utility vehicle taking the title of the country's bestselling car above 500,000 yuan. Another is Mao Geping Cosmetics, a premium skincare brand founded in 2000, which saw its revenue and profit jump more than 30 per cent last year, even as foreign rivals such as L'Oreal struggled with disappointing sales in China, said a Bloomberg report. Chinese brands may have stolen market share from Nike in sportswear and L'Oreal in beauty, but they still struggle to threaten global luxury players which charge a premium for storytelling, heritage and design. While Laopu might have overtaken 96-year-old chain Chow Tai Fook this year, the road ahead is far from easy. Chow Tai Fook has since introduced its own heritage gold jewellery line, and a number of smaller brands are now mimicking Laopu's ornamental approach, intensifying domestic competition. Still, analysts from Nomura note that Laopu's brand-led approach and focus on product innovation places it in a strong position to defend its lead in a crowded and fast-evolving market. Investing in gold While Laopu Gold is more akin to a luxury consumer good, investments in gold can take various forms such as bullions, futures contracts, gold mining stocks such as CNMC Goldmine and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This means that, for example, a Laopu Gold bangle with specific designs is more of an artisan item, while an one-ounce Pamp Suisse gold bar is considered a standard investment product. Securities such as gold ETFs also track the price of gold and are backed by physical bullion held in secure vaults, while Laopu Gold does not. 'Gold ETFs are cost-effective with lower storage and insurance costs, as compared to physical gold, and they come with minimal tracking error, meaning they closely mirror the actual price of gold,' said Dan Chang, trading representative at PhillipCapital, in an interview with The Business Times. As for Laopu assets, their sale (and re-sale) values could vary a bit more independently of gold prices, though there is some correlation. For example, a Laopu Gold necklace could sell for S$2,000 even if the gold content is worth only S$1,300. This is because of the excess value of design and branding, whereas an SPDR Gold Shares ETF directly tracks the price of gold. In another circumstance, reselling a Laopu Gold asset may yield 60 to 70 per cent of its purchase price – unless it is a collectible. Comparatively, selling a gold bar or ETF is more straightforward and transparent to investors due to their value pegged to current gold prices. That said, the steady rise in the price of gold, which currently trades at around double its level in 2022, has given Laopu a boost as buyers see its wares as a place to park their cash amid uncertain times.
