Laopu Gold Co.’s revenue and profit growth topped estimates in the first half as the Chinese jeweller’s pieces, which blend traditional craftsmanship with rich cultural motifs, soar in popularity among middle class shoppers.
Revenue increased 251 percent to 12.35 billion yuan ($1.72 billion) in the first six months of the year, according to a company earnings statement on Wednesday. Net income rose 286 percent to 2.27 billion yuan in the period. Same-store revenue growth was just over 200 percent compared to the same period in 2024.
Shares rose as much as 11 percent Wednesday afternoon after the earnings report, the most since June 30, and are up more than 200 percent this year.
Laopu’s rapid growth comes in sharp contrast to the struggles of some high-end Western retailers in China, defying a consumer pullback in an uncertain economy. Laopu, whose designs draw heavily on Chinese heritage, has been benefiting from Chinese consumers’ shift to domestic brands from imported status symbols.
Gold’s resilience as a store of value in a period of economic weakness has also fuelled the popularity of Laopu, which offers jewellery and ornaments in pure or diamond-studded gold.
Laopu plans to raise prices from Aug. 25, according to a company WeChat statement this month, without specifying the size of the increase. The jeweller usually raises retail prices every half year, and last did in February, according to Morgan Stanley.
The brand, which primarily operates in luxury shopping malls, has more than 40 stores across China. It opened its first outlet outside the country in Singapore in June, a test of demand from the overseas market.
Close to 80 percent of Laopu’s customers overlapped with five global luxury brands — including Louis Vuitton, Hermès International SCA and Richemont-owned Cartier — showing that more high-end shoppers are buying from Laopu, the jeweler said in an earnings press release, citing research it said came from Frost & Sullivan.
“Laopu is well positioned to take demand from western luxury jewelry brands’ entry-level customers and domestic gold jewelry brands’ high-end customers,” Citigroup said in a July research note.
By Bloomberg News
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Laopu Gold: China’s Homegrown Jewellery Success Story
While European and American luxury brand sales have fallen in China, Laopu Gold Co.’s sales have doubled in each of the past two years, underscoring a shift towards homegrown brands.