Can gold prices keep soaring without losses? "The Hermès of the gold world" sells over 30 billion yuan, and some people haven't even had a sip...

The gold market has been quite magical in the past year.

International gold prices have soared, with the price per gram of gold jewelry reaching new highs, but who could have thought that just entering March, gold prices would start to exhibit dramatic fluctuations…

So the question arises, in the context of a “golden year,” have those selling gold and jewelry actually made money? Recently, an increasing number of listed companies have begun to provide answers.

Some brands selling gold have long lines outside their doors, making a fortune in a year that surpasses several previous years; while others are losing money to the point where even their mothers wouldn’t recognize them, managing to turn a good hand into a complete mess…

Today, let’s take a look at who is feasting until full and who can’t even get a sip of soup.

/ After selling over 30 billion in a year,

young people continue to frenzy over the “Hermès of gold”! /

First, let’s talk about those feasting. There are two typical cases: one is “the Hermès of gold,” Lao Pu Gold, and the other is Chao Hong Ji.

In the past two years, Lao Pu Gold has become extremely popular, and if you casually search on any social media or short video platform, you’ll find posts like “After queuing for two hours, I finally got it,” and “How good is Lao Pu?”

More importantly, it used to be middle-aged Chinese women buying gold, but now it’s a group of post-90s and post-00s young people queuing for four to five hours outside Lao Pu Gold just to buy a piece of gold jewelry priced far above the market gold price.

And this booming sales scene is directly reflected in the financial reports. Not long ago, Lao Pu Gold issued a profit warning, so let’s look at some key data:

The sales performance for the fiscal year 2025 is expected to be approximately 31.375 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 220.3%; operating income is expected to be approximately 27.303 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 221.0%; profit is expected to be approximately 4.868 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 230.5%.

Wow, they made more money in this year than in the past two years combined, demonstrating terrifying capital-absorbing power. Moreover, this doubling performance far exceeds the predictions of many institutions, it can only be said that Goldman Sachs and Citibank were too conservative.

Why is Lao Pu Gold so strong? Simply put, it’s all about their marketing strategy, which has transformed gold into a luxury product.

While other gold stores are still using basic tricks like “20 grams off” or “discount on processing fees,” Lao Pu Gold goes for a “one-price” strategy, achieving a gross profit margin of over 37%.

Moreover, all of Lao Pu Gold’s stores are located in top-tier malls like SKP, Hang Lung, and MixC, where luxury brands gather, with an average overlap rate of 82.4% with major luxury brands like LV and Hermès.

Last year, Lao Pu Gold opened nine stores in top-tier malls, leading netizens to joke:

“I used to think buying gold was something for my mom’s generation, but now I feel out of place in the workplace without a gold gourd.”

One interesting set of data is:

In the last quarter of last year, gold jewelry demand in the Chinese market fell by 23% year-on-year, but spending increased by 19% year-on-year; the total demand for gold jewelry for the entire year of 2025 is expected to decrease by 25%, but the total expenditure instead increased by 8%.

In other words, although gold prices have risen and the number of buyers has decreased, people are generally buying more expensive items.

Lao Pu Gold has firmly grasped this consumption trend, having raised prices three times last year, with each price increase sparking a wave of queuing, and many products in stores and online were sold out immediately. This scene is strikingly similar to the price increases of Chanel and LV a few years ago.

At the end of February this year, Lao Pu Gold completed its first price increase for 2026, with an increase of 20% to 30%. After several price adjustments, most products in the store saw price increases of over 50%.

Lao Pu Gold’s growth momentum is so strong that investment banks on Wall Street are getting restless, with Citigroup, Nomura, and others giving “buy” ratings, claiming it is “China’s first true luxury brand.”

Another quiet money-maker is the established jeweler Chow Sang Sang, which expects a net profit of 1.6 to 1.7 billion Hong Kong dollars for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, directly doubling compared to the same period last year.

Interestingly, Chow Sang Sang stated that their increased earnings are due to favorable gold prices and good sales of priced gold jewelry, thus boosting their gross profit margin significantly.

Additionally, “the first listed jewelry chain in A-shares,” Chao Hong Ji, expects a net profit of 436 to 533 million yuan for 2025, a year-on-year increase of 125% to 175%, with a net increase of 163 stores in a year.

Unlike Lao Pu Gold, which focuses on traditional gold, this brand mainly targets a younger demographic, incorporating IP collaborations and cartoon beads, directly turning gold into fashion items, which also continues its earlier strategy of being “the king of K-gold.”

Eight Sister finds that to feast, one must have precise positioning; the one-size-fits-all approach to selling gold is no longer viable.

/ Can you still lose money when gold prices rise? Some are “cross-industry committing suicide,” while others play with finance and get burned… /

In the nationwide gold craze, listed companies selling gold and jewelry are experiencing a stark contrast, with some feasting while others can’t even get a sip of soup.

Why does this happen? Because as gold prices rise, the number of buyers decreases, and both Lao Feng Xiang and China Gold have fallen into this predicament.

According to performance reports, Lao Feng Xiang achieved operating income of 52.823 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 6.99%; the net profit attributable to the parent company was 1.755 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 9.99%. Although they didn’t lose money, the decline in both revenue and net profit is indeed a bit awkward in the context of soaring gold prices.

What’s even more painful is that last year, Lao Feng Xiang closed 499 franchise stores, which is not a good sign for a “time-honored” brand primarily focused on offline sales.

China Gold is also struggling; for 2025, the expected net profit attributable to the parent company is only 286 to 368 million yuan, directly halved compared to the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 55% to 65%.

The company summarized the reasons: severe fluctuations in gold prices combined with policy adjustments have impacted the sales of various products, while the rapid increase in gold prices outpaced inventory turnover, causing losses in the fair value changes of gold leasing business, which temporarily dragged down profits.

In simple terms, those selling gold have been caught in the trap of rising gold prices.

But there are even more outrageous cases than the two above, such as the couple’s Meng Jin Yuan in Weifang, Shandong, which expects a net profit attributable to the parent company of only 96.52 million yuan in 2025, a staggering 49.03% drop, directly halving.

The significant drop is not due to poor sales of gold jewelry, but rather because of a failed foray into finance.

Meng Jin Yuan engaged in a series of Au(T+D) contracts and gold leasing business, originally intending to lock in gold costs and hedge against price fluctuations, but gold prices soared, resulting in disastrous losses from the hedging contracts, with total losses expanding to 1.01 billion yuan for the year.

Among these, the loss from cashing out Au(T+D) contracts reached 706 million yuan, while the cash loss from gold leasing amounted to 217 million yuan, and the unrealized loss from gold leasing was 74.39 million yuan.

This 1 billion loss completely offset all the benefits brought by rising gold prices and hot product sales, showing that a gold store lost money in a year of rising gold prices due to financial operations, which is increasingly ironic.

Another established jewelry company, Ming Pai Jewelry, has a stable jewelry business, but can’t withstand the public company’s insistence on “cross-industry committing suicide,” neglecting the sale of gold jewelry and instead venturing into photovoltaic batteries.

As a result, the price war in the photovoltaic industry turned brutal, and they planned to write down 170 million in asset impairment. Ultimately, their annual report expects a loss of 280 to 380 million yuan for 2025, turning from profit to loss compared to the same period last year. Originally, they could have steadily conducted their jewelry business, but after a series of operations, they ended up in a financial mess.

One company with a more complex situation, Cuihua Jewelry, expects a net profit attributable to the parent company of 21 to 31 million yuan in 2025, representing a 90% year-on-year decline; however, after excluding non-recurring gains and losses, the profit is expected to increase by 154% to 280%, mainly due to changes in the scope of consolidated statements. In layman’s terms, they are showing a loss on the books, but their main business is still doing well.

However, a few years ago, Cuihua Jewelry ventured into lithium batteries, accumulating a mountain of debt, and has already been labeled as ST (special treatment). Recently, they announced that “the company and its subsidiaries have overdue principal loans totaling 234 million yuan,” involving six financial institutions including Bank of Communications and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. If this issue is not resolved well, there could be bigger troubles ahead.

/ With gold prices riding a roller coaster,

is it getting harder to do business in gold jewelry? /

So you see, while gold prices continue to hover at high levels, the differentiation among listed companies in the gold and jewelry sector is becoming increasingly apparent.

Some are enjoying brand premium benefits, while others are suffering heavy losses due to “cross-industry” mismanagement. In addition, there is a group of older brothers struggling to transform and trying to make themselves younger.

For instance, the once “number one gold store,” Chow Tai Fook, has actually spent the entire 2025 fiscal year focusing on transformation, closing 896 stores in just one year, and its market value has been surpassed by Lao Pu Gold, which only has a few dozen stores.

Noticing the dire situation, Chow Tai Fook started to follow Lao Pu Gold’s lead in urgent transformation, closing underperforming stores, focusing on high-margin products, and selling gold jewelry as luxury items. Their so-called “Chuan Fu Series” and “Palace Museum Series” have become bestsellers, making an effort to appear less “dated.”

Finally, in the second half of last year, Chow Tai Fook began to breathe again. Data shows that from July 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025, they achieved operating income of 12.827 billion Hong Kong dollars, a year-on-year increase of 5.92%; net profit reached 1.334 billion Hong Kong dollars, a year-on-year increase of 15.26%.

Another established brand, Beijing’s time-honored Cai Bai Co., expects a net profit attributable to the parent company of 1.06 to 1.23 billion yuan for 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 47.43% to 71.07%.

Cai Bai’s strategy is somewhat different from other listed jewelry companies; it has consistently adhered to a direct sales model, which gives it stronger control over channels. In the volatile environment of fluctuating gold prices, this “self-directed” channel model has become an advantage.

Ultimately, the gold industry is no longer an era where “just opening a store guarantees profit”; brand strength and product strength are the true moats.

For example, recently, the “four sisters of traditional gold”—Lao Pu Gold, Jun Pei, Lin Zhao, and Bao Lan—have all successively completed their first round of price increases this year. More importantly, even after the price increases, there are still long queues outside their stores.

Therefore, the industry’s differentiation itself is an opportunity, and only those companies that adapt to changes can remain at the table.

Finally, let me ask: Did you buy gold this year? How long did you queue?