Respected for its steadfast refusal to offer discounts, LAOPU GOLD has launched an unprecedented sale just ahead of the Qixi Festival, less than six months after its last price increase. At its stores in upscale malls like Beijing SKP, Shanghai IFC, and Guangzhou Taikoo Hui, the company is offering significant markdowns.

After combining mall points, membership perks, and other discounts, most items are effectively available at 15% off the retail price, with scalpers even offering a 18% discount. For example, a classic ancient-style gold piece originally priced at 32,490 yuan has been reduced to 27,878 yuan, a savings of over 4,600 yuan. Store staff have described this as "the lowest price in history."

The sharp price cuts have ignited dissatisfaction among loyal customers. Public records show that LAOPU GOLD raised its prices three times in 2025, for a cumulative increase of over 50%, and another round in late February boosted average prices by about 25%. One customer who bought an item for 33,400 yuan before the cuts complained, "Isn't this a betrayal of loyal customers? I bought at the peak for 33,400 yuan, and now it's just over 30,000 yuan. I've lost 3,000 yuan out of nowhere." Another said, "I bought it less than a week ago, and it dropped 5,000 yuan. I'm really upset, Laopu."

Since the second quarter of this year, as gold prices reversed, LAOPU GOLD's stock hit a turning point, plunging significantly. The share price has fallen from a high of 1065 Hong Kong dollars in July last year to a low of 282 Hong Kong dollars, erasing over three-quarters of its market value. Concurrently, volatility in gold prices has spurred consumer caution, putting pressure on the entire gold jewelry industry.

The sale at Laopu Gold, with staff calling it 'the lowest price in history'

In the public mind, one of the core barriers for luxury brands is a stable pricing system and scarcity value, with regular discounts being a major taboo. However, this solid pricing system has now been broken. The promotions at LAOPU GOLD stores in high-end malls are extensive, covering many popular classic lines, with ample stock. A store employee explained that items are discounted through a combination of "1000 minus 50" offers, 10x mall points, additional 5% off for iterative models, and a further 5% off for top-tier membership tiers, plus a 5g gold coin for every 250,000 yuan spent.

This promotional activity has ignited consumer buying enthusiasm. Staff report that daily waiting times to enter the store are about half an hour, stretching to two to three hours on weekends. The steady flow of customers has also attracted scalpers, who offer discounts of 15% to 18%, though they deny claims that a 21% discount is possible. Some customers have completed transactions with scalpers at around an 18% discount.

Recycling premiums shrink, with experts stating 'discounts damage high-end positioning'

This price-breaking move is not coincidental marketing but a response to cooling demand. Zhou Ting, a luxury goods expert and president of the Yaoke Research Institute, said, "The discount is a short-term choice under pressure from industry competition, gold price volatility, high rent, and growth expectations. It can boost sales but severely harms the long-term high-end strategy. It undermines the logic of price rigidity, dilutes the sense of exclusivity for core customers, and risks collapsing the entire brand value system if discounts become regular."

Zhou Ting believes there is potential for further price declines. "While discounts will likely remain seasonal and selective, the boundary of the pricing system could be broken if earnings pressure continues," she added.

The value erosion is also evident in the secondary market. A classic hot-selling item with a retail price of 55,660 yuan is now being recycled for only 35,600 yuan, a discount of less than 30%. Some niche styles see even deeper cuts. A veteran gold recycling merchant noted that gold price fluctuations, along with the ability to buy new items from Macau at a 32% discount, are driving down secondary market prices. However, LAOPU GOLD still maintains a premium over other brands, which are priced closer to the spot gold price.

Market value evaporates as performance and stock price diverge

As a Hong Kong-listed "ancient method gold first stock," LAOPU GOLD once saw its stock price surge to 1065.17 Hong Kong dollars per share in July last year, with a market cap approaching 190 billion Hong Kong dollars. Its controlling shareholders, Xu Gaoming and Xu Dongbo, even ranked 71st on the 2025 Hurun Rich List with a fortune of 69.5 billion yuan. However, since the second quarter of 2026, the stock price has reversed, plummeting to a low of 282 Hong Kong dollars, a decline of over 70% from its peak, erasing nearly three-quarters of its value.

Despite this, the company's half-year performance forecast remains strong, projecting revenue of 22.7 billion to 23.35 billion yuan (up 60-65% year-on-year) and adjusted net profit of 4.31 billion to 4.36 billion yuan (up 83-85%). The market's anxiety stems from a fundamental questioning of its business model. LAOPU GOLD's core logic is to break gold's commodity status by using ancient craftsmanship and Eastern culture to create a luxury pricing system independent of raw material costs. Its high-end store layout, circle marketing, and fixed-price models aim to escape the low-end competition of the traditional gold jewelry industry.

As company chairman Xu Gaoming once stated, "Laopu Gold is benchmarking against luxury brands. Our future average store efficiency should exceed 1 billion yuan, and stores with efficiency below 500 million yuan will be closed. If a gold seller can't outperform a leather goods seller, we need to reflect." However, the current gold price cycle has exposed the model's weakness. While LAOPU GOLD appears to have built a luxury mindset, it cannot fully escape the cyclical constraints of the gold raw material.

Zhou Ting noted, "Laopu's core barrier comes from its first-mover advantage in the ancient gold track, its prime locations in high-end malls, and gold's anti-risk attributes. These are solid and hard to replicate." However, she added, "The value anchor of a true luxury is independent brand culture, historical narrative, and identity symbols, with material costs being a very small part. Laopu's value foundation is still tied to 'gold material + intangible heritage.' It has not yet formed a separate emotional or identity premium detached from the material. Transitioning from a high-end gold brand to a true luxury brand requires long-term, sustained effort, not quick expansion."