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Laopu Gold: The Hong Kong-listed dark horse turning ancient gold craftsmanship into luxury premiums

Founded: Xu Gaoming · Laopu Gold Co., Ltd.

JOURNEY

Key Fields

FIELD STAMPS
IndustryE-commerce / Retail
RegionChina
ScaleGiant
ChannelOther

Origin

Founder Xu Gaoming, born in 1964 in Yueyang, Hunan, previously worked at the Yueyang Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Bureau before entering the business world, focusing on cultural tourism and gold craftsmanship. He founded Laopu Gold in 2009, pioneering the concept of 'ancient method gold' (gu-fa gold). He aimed to break away from the traditional gold shop model of pricing by weight and earning processing fees, instead using pure gold hand-chasing and cultural storytelling to transform gold jewelry into luxury goods similar to Hermès.

Milestones

2009
Founding Turning point
In 2009, Xu Gaoming founded Laopu Gold in Beijing. He abandoned the mainstream business of gold bars and weight-based pricing, positioning the brand as a specialist in handcrafted ancient-style gold. It was the first company in China to systematically promote the 'ancient method gold' concept, laying the foundation for its future luxury narrative.
2017
Channel positioning PMF
Laopu Gold insisted on opening only direct-operated stores in high-end malls, entering luxury hubs like Beijing SKP and positioning itself alongside international luxury brands. With average transaction values far higher than traditional jewelers like Chow Tai Fook, it proved that high-net-worth customers were willing to pay for craftsmanship premiums. Single-store profitability began to outperform peers, a phase that lasted from 2017 to 2019.
2019
Craftsmanship breakthrough Turning point
In 2019, Laopu Gold pioneered the technique of setting diamonds in pure gold, subverting the industry tradition of using K-gold as a base for diamond settings. By combining pure gold with diamonds, it created a product barrier that was difficult to replicate quickly, further widening the design gap with ordinary ancient-method gold brands.
2021
Standard setting Growth
The China Gold Association released group standards for 'Ancient Method Gold Jewelry' and 'Ancient Method Gold Jewelry with Diamond Settings,' with Laopu Gold serving as a drafting unit for both. This solidified its status as an industry pioneer. The ancient-method gold market grew from 13 billion yuan in 2018 to 157.3 billion yuan in 2023, a phase spanning 2021 to 2022.
2024
Hong Kong IPO Growth
On June 28, 2024, Laopu Gold listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 06181.HK). Its share price soared after listing, briefly exceeding 1,000 HKD per share in mid-2025, with a market value surpassing 170 billion HKD, becoming a super dark horse in the Hong Kong consumer sector.
2025
High-level inventory accumulation Failure
A Citi report noted that Laopu Gold purchased a large batch of gold raw materials in November 2025 at the peak of gold prices for production and sales. Subsequently, gold prices plummeted, and high-cost inventory directly eroded profits. The company's debt scale surged from 2.4 billion yuan to 10.1 billion yuan, with interest-bearing borrowings reaching 6.164 billion yuan by the end of 2025, over 6 billion yuan of which is due in 2026.
2026
Cyclical test Turning point
When gold prices plummeted, peers lowered prices for weight-based gold, but Laopu Gold could not lower prices to maintain its luxury persona, even raising prices against the trend in late February 2026. Market value evaporated by 100 billion HKD in less than a year. At the August 2026 earnings call, Xu Gaoming stated that the average monthly net profit in the second quarter exceeded 200 million yuan, meeting expectations, and argued against reacting hastily to the crisis.

Turning Points

  • Abandoned the weight-based pricing model in 2009 to enter the high-end gold jewelry niche with ancient craftsmanship.
  • Opened direct-operated stores in luxury malls like Beijing SKP, validating the high-premium single-store model.
  • Pioneered pure gold diamond-setting technology in 2019, building a product barrier difficult for peers to imitate.
  • Leveraged capital and brand momentum after the 2024 Hong Kong IPO to complete nationwide high-end expansion.
  • High-level inventory accumulation in 2025 combined with the 2026 gold price crash dealt the first major cyclical blow to its luxury narrative.

Failures & Pitfalls

  • Massive raw material stockpiling at the peak of gold prices in November 2025; high-cost inventory eroded profits when prices fell.
  • Debt scale surged from 2.4 billion yuan to 10.1 billion yuan, with over 6 billion yuan in loans maturing in 2026, causing a sudden liquidity crunch.
  • Secondary market share price fell from its peak in less than a year, with market value evaporating by about 100 billion HKD, falsifying the high-valuation thesis.
  • Unable to follow price cuts during the gold price crash; the counter-trend price hike strategy triggered consumer doubts about the brand's value-preservation attributes.
  • The 'fixed-price' store queues faded, with scalpers and speculators selling off certain models at a loss.

关键成功要素

  • Transformed gold from a weight-based commodity into a fixed-price luxury good using intangible cultural heritage craftsmanship and storytelling.
  • Only opened direct-operated stores in top-tier malls, using channel location to endorse brand tonality.
  • Pioneered original techniques like pure gold diamond setting and participated in setting industry standards to lock in market influence.
  • Leveraged a peak market value of 170 billion HKD with only about 33 stores, achieving extreme single-store efficiency.
  • Over-aggressive expansion, inventory stocking, and gold price speculation after the IPO exposed weaknesses in risk hedging.

Lessons

  • Brand premium must be built on the premise that consumers believe gold preserves value; the luxury narrative is the first to be hit when gold prices crash.
  • High-margin models do not equal low risk; stockpiling raw materials at high levels essentially turns a gold jewelry company into a gold price speculator.
  • Counter-cyclical price hikes can maintain a brand image, but they sacrifice sales volume and test cash flow.
  • Direct operation plus high-end malls is the physical foundation for luxury brand premiums; giving up channel control equals giving up pricing power.
  • Rapid debt-fueled expansion during growth phases turns an amplifier into a noose when the cycle reverses.

Core Data

  • 2025 Revenue：27.3 billion yuan (up 221% YoY) (Public data, independent verification not performed)
  • 2025 Net Profit：4.868 billion yuan (up 230% YoY) (Public data, independent verification not performed)
  • Peak Market Value：Over 170 billion HKD (share price exceeded 1,000 HKD in 2025) (Public data, independent verification not performed)
  • Market Value Evaporation：Approx. 100 billion HKD in less than 1 year (approx. 71.6 billion HKD in August 2026) (Public data, independent verification not performed)
  • Interest-bearing borrowings at end of 2025：6.164 billion yuan (1.373 billion yuan in 2024) (Public data, independent verification not performed)
  • Total Liabilities：Increased from 2.4 billion yuan to 10.1 billion yuan (Public data, independent verification not performed)
  • Q2 2026 Average Monthly Net Profit：Over 200 million yuan (Public data, independent verification not performed)

Competitors / Peers

Laopu Gold's competitors are two-fold: First, traditional gold giants like Chow Tai Fook, Lao Feng Xiang, and China Gold, which follow a mass-market scale route through franchising and weight-based pricing. Chow Tai Fook launched a five-year transformation in April 2024, aiming to upgrade from a traditional gold retailer to a global Oriental luxury brand, with its 'Inheritance' ancient-method gold series contributing about 39% of its gold sales. Second, international luxury jewelry brands like Cartier and Bvlgari occupy the high-end mindshare. Laopu Gold competes with its ~33 direct-operated stores against thousands of stores of the giants, breaking through with ultra-high single-store efficiency and fixed-price differentiation. However, the ancient-method gold craft itself has a limited moat, and leading jewelers are rapidly following suit with similar products.

Sources

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⚠️ This entry draws on self-reported accounts and public reporting, not independently verified, and is not investment, startup, or legal advice; revenue figures are case-specific and not representative of typical results.