Old Shop Gold makes nearly 4.9 billion in profit; can Xu Gaoming's 63.5 billion withstand gold price fluctuations?

Radar Finance | Ding Yu | Editor: Meng Shuai

On March 23, as gold prices experienced significant corrections, the high-end brand of traditional Chinese gold, Laopu Gold, released its annual performance announcement for 2025.

The financial report shows that in 2025, Laopu Gold’s sales performance reached 31.375 billion yuan; achieving 27.303 billion yuan in revenue, a year-on-year increase of 221%; and recording a net profit of 4.868 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 230.45%.

At the same time, Laopu Gold estimates that in the first quarter of this year, the company’s sales performance will be approximately 19 billion to 20 billion yuan, with revenue around 16.5 billion to 17.5 billion yuan, and net profit around 3.6 billion to 3.8 billion yuan.

This means that in just one quarter this year, Laopu Gold’s revenue has already reached at least 60% of last year’s total, with net profit exceeding 70% of last year’s total.

In fact, the explosive growth of Laopu Gold’s performance can be attributed not only to the company’s strategic positioning in brand, product tone, channel layout, and store scenarios, but also to the surge in gold prices, which is a crucial factor.

Thanks to the company’s soaring performance and stock prices, the wealth of Xu Gaoming and Xu Dongbo, who are behind Laopu Gold, has also increased. In the “2026 Hurun Global Rich List” published in March, their wealth reached 63.5 billion yuan, an increase of 146% compared to last year.

However, on the day the Laopu Gold financial report was released, gold prices fluctuated sharply, with spot gold temporarily falling below $4,100 per ounce, down nearly 9% within the day, hitting a low not seen since late November 2025.

According to Times Finance, Zhou Ting, director of the VIP Research Institute, believes that Laopu Gold’s choice to release its financial report during a significant drop in gold prices may be intended to use its impressive report to offset the negative impact of falling gold prices and to gain time for its operations.

Positioning as high-end and insisting on self-operation, single-store sales nearly reach one billion.

Although it claims to be the first brand in China to promote the concept of traditional gold, and also the leading brand in traditional handmade gold jewelry, Laopu Gold is actually a rising star in the gold and jewelry industry compared to established brands like Chow Tai Fook and Lao Feng Xiang.

Radar Finance learned from the company’s official website that Laopu Gold was founded in March 2009. In that March, Laopu Gold’s first offline experience store, “Laopu Gold · Wangfujing Gongmei Building Store,” officially opened.

It is reported that Laopu Gold specializes in traditional Chinese handmade gold jewelry, with products covering three major lines: “traditional gold jewelry, traditional gold (pure gold) diamond jewelry, and traditional gold artifacts,” including pendants, bracelets, rings, and earrings.

According to Laopu Gold, its significant differences in brand positioning, product tone, channel layout, store scenarios, and employee customer service have laid the foundation for its success.

It is worth mentioning that unlike some gold and jewelry manufacturers, Laopu Gold has never opened its franchise model.

As of the end of 2025, Laopu Gold had only opened 45 self-operated stores in 16 cities. Compared to 2024, the company added 10 new stores and optimized and expanded 9 stores last year.

However, in terms of the number of stores, Laopu Gold still has a considerable gap compared to “predecessors” like Chow Tai Fook and Lao Feng Xiang.

As of the end of September 2025, Chow Tai Fook Jewelry had a total of 5,663 retail points in mainland China; by the end of 2025, Lao Feng Xiang had a total of 5,355 marketing outlets.

According to Laopu Gold, all of its stores are located in 34 well-known commercial centers with stringent admission requirements, including 6 stores in the SKP system and 12 stores in the MixC system.

The financial report shows that in 2025, the company’s offline stores contributed sales of 25.793 billion yuan, achieving revenue of 22.646 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 204%, accounting for 82.9% of the company’s total revenue.

Although the number of stores is not many, Laopu Gold’s single-store revenue capacity is quite impressive. In 2025, the company achieved annualized sales of nearly one billion yuan per single mall on average.

According to Frost & Sullivan data, Laopu Gold ranked first in both single-store and per-square-meter sales in mainland China among global luxury goods groups in 2025.

At the same time, Laopu Gold’s growth on online platforms is also quite remarkable. In 2025, the company’s online sales performance reached 5.582 billion yuan, achieving revenue of 4.657 billion yuan, a year-on-year surge of 341.3%, accounting for 17.1% of the company’s total revenue, an increase of 4.7 percentage points compared to 2024.

Laopu Gold’s revenue almost entirely comes from gold product sales. Last year, the sales performance of the company’s pure gold products (pure gold jewelry and pure gold embedded products) was 31.352 billion yuan, with revenue of 27.283 billion yuan, accounting for as much as 99.9% of the company’s total revenue.

Surging gold prices drive “fixed pricing,” increasing cash flow and inventory pressure.

Looking at the long term, Laopu Gold’s performance has shown rapid growth for three consecutive years, and its growth trajectory is closely aligned with the trend of gold prices.

According to Tonghuashun iFinD data, from 2023 to 2025, Laopu Gold’s revenue was 3.18 billion yuan, 8.506 billion yuan, and 27.303 billion yuan, with year-on-year increases of 145.67%, 167.51%, and 221%, respectively.

During the same period, Laopu Gold recorded net profits of 416 million yuan, 1.473 billion yuan, and 4.868 billion yuan, with year-on-year increases of 340.4%, 253.86%, and 230.45%, respectively.

During this period, gold prices generally rose sharply. Data from the Shanghai Gold Exchange shows that the price of Au99.99 rose from just over 400 yuan per gram at the beginning of 2023 to 1,256 yuan per gram at the end of January this year, an increase of over 200%.

For the excellent performance reported last year, Laopu Gold attributes its growth to three key factors.

First, the continuous expansion of the group’s brand influence has formed an absolute market advantage, leading to substantial growth in overall revenue for online and offline stores.

Second, the continuous optimization and iteration of the group’s products have ensured sustained high growth in both online and offline revenues.

Third, the incremental revenue contribution from newly added, optimized, and expanded stores in 2025.

However, the surge in gold prices is a double-edged sword for gold and jewelry companies, bringing both opportunities and challenges.

Due to the rapid and continuous rise in gold prices, Laopu Gold’s gross profit margin last year fell from 41.16% in 2024 to about 37.63%.

In fact, to maintain a high gross profit level, Laopu Gold made three price adjustments last year. It was not until the third price adjustment in October last year that the company’s gross profit margin returned to above 40%.

Thanks to the value-preserving properties of gold, the company’s price adjustments often attract a large number of consumers to queue up for purchases.

According to Securities Daily, on February 28 this year, Laopu Gold initiated its first price adjustment of the year, with adjustments ranging from 20% to 30%.

Before this round of price adjustments, many Laopu Gold stores experienced long queues overnight for purchases, with some stores even being sold out.

Consumer enthusiasm for Laopu Gold may also be closely related to its “fixed pricing” sales model.

According to China Business News, “fixed pricing” refers to the sales model of gold jewelry that emphasizes item pricing rather than weight, which can lead consumers to perceive a better cost-performance ratio during rising gold prices.

However, recently, the previously firm gold prices have begun to show signs of loosening. According to the 21st Century Business Herald, the international gold market has faced severe sell-offs since March, with March 23 witnessing a “free fall” trend.

Wind data shows that on that day, spot gold continuously lost multiple support levels, falling below $4,100 per ounce for the first time since November 24 last year, with an intraday plunge of 8.7%, erasing all gains for the year.

Zhou Ting, director of the VIP Research Institute, pointed out, “Currently, Laopu Gold does not possess the anti-cyclical capabilities of luxury brands, and fluctuations in gold prices remain the core factor affecting its performance growth, essentially still belonging to a gold sales brand.”

There are also views that if gold prices continue to fall, it may affect consumers’ enthusiasm for Laopu Gold products to some extent.

In addition to the potential impacts of gold price fluctuations, Laopu Gold also needs to be cautious about other risks. In 2025, Laopu Gold’s operating cash outflow reached 6.848 billion yuan, a significant increase from 1.228 billion yuan in 2024.

At the same time, Laopu Gold’s inventory increased from 4.088 billion yuan at the end of 2024 to 16.044 billion yuan at the end of 2025, an increase of 292.5%.

In response, Laopu Gold explained that traditional handmade gold jewelry distinguishes between jewelry and artifacts, with production and processing cycles ranging from 25 to 90 days. Given the rapid growth in sales during the reporting period, to ensure inventory reserves for the peak season during the Spring Festival and the market’s incremental demand, combined with production processing time, the company needed to increase material inputs.

Additionally, Laopu Gold’s debt-to-asset ratio has also increased significantly, rising from 38.1% at the end of 2024 to 47.8% at the end of last year.

After a bumpy road to listing, the founder amassed a fortune of 63.5 billion.

Laopu Gold, established for just over ten years, has joined the ranks of Pop Mart and Mixue Ice City in the Hong Kong capital market, becoming one of the highly watched “three golden flowers.”

This brilliant achievement of Laopu Gold is closely tied to the key entrepreneurial decisions made by its founder Xu Gaoming.

Born in the 1960s, Xu Gaoming is a native of Hunan.

According to the prospectus, in 1984, he worked as a staff member at the Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Bureau in Yueyang.

In 1988, Xu Gaoming graduated from Huazhong Agricultural University through correspondence courses, successfully obtaining a college degree in freshwater aquaculture.

In 1992, Xu Gaoming served as the general manager of the aquatic building at the Yueyang Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Bureau.

However, in 1995, Xu Gaoming made a bold decision to give up what many viewed as a “stable job” and joined Yueyang Hongqiao Tourism Investment Management Co., Ltd. as general manager.

Afterward, Xu Gaoming embarked on a diversified exploration in the business field. In 2004, he founded Golden Treasure, mainly engaged in gold jewelry and collectibles.

Later, in 2012, Xu Gaoming established Wenfang Culture, a company primarily engaged in the business of stationery cultural products, antiques, and jewelry.

As the business developed, to seek independent development of traditional handmade gold and streamline the company structure, in 2016, Laopu Gold was spun off from Golden Treasure and began independent operations.

Looking back at Laopu Gold’s path to capitalization, it has been quite tortuous. The company initially set its sights on the A-share market, but its first attempt in 2020 ended in failure, receiving inquiries from the listing review committee.

At that time, Laopu Gold faced skepticism for three main reasons: first, the necessity and fairness of pricing for the continued transactions with Wenfang Culture (a company controlled by the major shareholder) after acquiring Golden Treasure’s business; second, the reasonableness of its significantly higher gross profit margin compared to comparable companies; and third, the reasonableness of capital transfers among related parties, management, and processors.

After rectification, Laopu Gold submitted its application materials again in June 2023, but withdrew its listing application less than a month later.

In 2023, Laopu Gold decided to shift its focus to the Hong Kong stock market. After multiple submissions of prospectus materials, Tianyancha shows that Laopu Gold successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June 2024.

After its listing, Laopu Gold, leveraging its rapid performance growth, surged in the capital market, with its stock price skyrocketing from a low of several dozen Hong Kong dollars per share to breaking the 1,000 Hong Kong dollar mark at one point.

With the company’s entry into the capital market, the wealth of founder Xu Gaoming has also risen dramatically. In the “2026 Hurun Global Rich List” revealed in early March, he and his son Xu Dongbo ranked with a wealth of 63.5 billion yuan, an increase of 146% compared to last year.

However, the capital market is constantly changing. As of the close on March 25, Laopu Gold’s latest stock price was 647 Hong Kong dollars per share, significantly down from its previous high of over 1,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Facing the challenges of fluctuating gold prices, can Xu Gaoming continue to lead Laopu Gold to maintain its impressive performance? Radar Finance will continue to monitor this.