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HONG KONG -- Chinese jewelry brand Laopu Gold downplayed headwinds on Wednesday after its earnings missed estimates, stressing its continued growth through a rough patch for the industry.
The previous day, the Beijing-headquartered Laopu reported a 60.3% increase in first-half revenue to 19.8 billion yuan ($2.95 billion), while net income rose 88.2% to 4.27 billion yuan. While those growth rates would be enviable for many companies, they were far below the 250%-plus figures Laopu reported for the same period last year, and fell short of analysts' estimates as a pullback in gold prices weighed on Chinese jewelry demand.
"Faced with a complex macroeconomic environment and gold-price cycles in the first half of 2026, Laopu Gold has further widened its lead over both international and domestic jewelry brands," Feng Jianjun, executive director and vice general manager, told an earnings conference on Wednesday, citing average sales of more than 500 million yuan per store during the six-month period.
Feng added that as of June 2026, despite a 41% decline in China's gold demand in the first half of the year, membership of Laopu's loyalty program climbed to 730,000, a 20% increase from 2025.
Dubbed the "Hermes of gold" by some, the brand became a darling of investors and shoppers last year, attracting long lines at its boutiques while its share price soared. Its stock performance has been far less impressive this year. When Laopu published preliminary first-half results in late July, which were weaker than expected, its share price fell 24% the next day. The company's shares in Hong Kong are down about 35% since the start of 2026, although they were up about 2.6% in Wednesday trading.
The company did not give breakdowns of its quarterly earnings. But based on its first-quarter sales forecast -- revenue of approximately 16.5 billion to 17.5 billion yuan, with net profit of around 3.6 billion to 3.8 billion yuan -- its second-quarter revenue is estimated to have been 2.31 billion to 3.31 billion yuan, with net profit of about 470 million to 670 million yuan. That would mark a sharp sequential decline.
HSBC said in a note last month that Laopu's slowdown in the second quarter was caused by the correction in spot gold prices and the widening of its product price premium over spot gold.
Contrary to standard industry practice, Laopu does not price its products by weight or adjust them in line with global gold price fluctuations. Instead, it typically raises listed prices two to three times a year. Laopu insists it is resilient against gold price fluctuations because of its brand premium.
As sales came under pressure, Laopu ramped up spending on sales and distribution by 50% to 2.2 billion yuan in the first half. Even so, its gross profit margin improved to 41.3%, from 38.1% a year earlier, as the company had built up a cushion of relatively low-cost inventory heading into the year, and it raised prices at the end of February.
Since July, the company has rolled out a series of measures to spur sales, including bundled gifts, enhanced member perks, steeper discounts and new products priced more closely to prevailing gold prices. The company has also completed refurbishments and upgrades across eight of its stores in mainland China since the start of the year.
While the slowdown highlights Laopu's sensitivity to swings in gold's value, Morningstar said in an earlier note that consumers tend to favor weight-based products over fixed-price jewelry when prices are falling. The financial services firm expects gold prices to recover more moderately amid geopolitical uncertainty.
Laopu struck a positive tone on its outlook Wednesday.
"The pullback in the second quarter was a rare and unusual phenomenon," founder and Chairman Xu Gaoming said at the briefing. "After the test of the second quarter, we are confident that Laopu has already established strong brand pricing power."
Xu forecast that gold prices will continue to climb from the third quarter through next year.
"Gold is back," he added. "And in a very strong way."
The overlap rate between the homegrown brand's consumers and those of leading international luxury houses, such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Cartier, rose from 77.3% in July 2025 to 84.6% in August 2026, according to the company.
Laopu Gold will focus on expansion in Southeast Asia for the rest of the year, while planning "aggressive" inroads in overseas markets.
Xu said the company is currently in discussions with partners in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. It also secured an outlet in Tokyo's Ginza district, he said, but concluded that "it is not the best time" to enter the Japanese market.
In addition, Laopu has held talks with a luxury shopping mall in Los Angeles and is looking to open stores in the U.S., Canada, France and the U.K. next year.
Additional reporting by Akane Okutsu in Tokyo.