From fisheries clerk to jewelry billionaire: How Xu Gaoming built $11B fortune with China’s ‘Hermès of gold’

Xu’s wealth has grown rapidly after Laopu made its Hong Kong Stock Exchange debut last year at HK$40.50 (US$5.20) per share. What followed was a staggering rally, with the stock climbing as high as HK$1,108 in July.

The surge has propelled founder Xu, who first became a billionaire last year, into the upper tiers of China’s richest, with Forbes ranking him 35th among the country’s wealthy in November.

The company’s financial performance has also been soaring. It reported revenues of 12.35 billion yuan (US$1.74 billion) in the first half of 2025, up 251% year-on-year, and a 285.8% jump in profits to 2.26 billion yuan. Its stores generated an average of 459 million yuan each in sales over the period, with same-store sales rising by 243%, according to Hong Kong Business Review.

Its digital presence has also grown, with its Tmall flagship leading the platform’s gold category in sales during the 2025 Tmall 618 shopping festival, becoming the first gold jewelry brand to hit a transaction value of over 1 billion yuan.

A staff member attends to a customer at a Laopu Gold jewelry store in Beijing, China, March 12, 2025. Photo by Reuters

Xu, born in 1964 in Hunan Province, had earlier begun his career at around the age of 20 working in the fisheries bureau of Yueyang, a city near Dongting Lake, according to local media. He also completed a correspondence program with Huazhong Agricultural University and earned his degree in 1988.

After a decade working for the city, he launched a startup selling tourist souvenirs and culture-related products in 1995, when he was in his 30s. Two decades later, he launched Laopu Gold, which specializes in "heritage gold jewelry."

The label draws on traditional motifs such as gourds and Buddhist symbols for its designs, which also add modern touches like matte finishes and embedded diamonds or rubies.

"The brand has always sought to both preserve tradition and rebel against tradition," Xu claimed in an April shareholders meeting, as quoted by Bloomberg.

While established brands such as Chow Tai Fook and Lao Feng Xiang operate thousands of outlets across China, Laopu has opted to make its retail experience exclusive. It runs just over 40 outlets across mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau that are designed similar to imperial Chinese courts. Some of its stores sit in high-end malls close to global luxury names like Cartier and Louis Vuitton, according to Reuters.

Laopu also stands out for its fixed pricing, with popular pieces selling for 10,000-50,000 yuan, unlike its rivals who price jewelry based on gold weight and spot rates.

Thus, the brand’s elaborate designs and hefty price tags have earned it the nickname "Hermès of Gold" among Chinese shoppers.

That approach has helped Laopu capitalize on "guochao," or "national wave," which refers to the rising preference among Chinese consumers for products with Chinese heritage elements. The trend has reshaped local spending habits in recent years, giving homegrown labels an edge over global names.

On Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, there have been hundreds of thousands of posts showcasing shoppers flaunting their Laopu pieces.

"No one can leave Laopu Gold empty-handed," read a post featuring a photo of a user in a white T-shirt and a gold-and-diamond butterfly pendant.

Consumers wait in a long queue to enter a store of Laopu Gold, known for its "traditional craftsmanship" gold jewellery, at Yuyuan Garden on Feb. 22, 2025 in Shanghai, China. Photo by VCG via Reuters

The brand has captured attention beyond China as well. During his China visit in September, Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury giant LVMH, browsed a Laopu store in a Shanghai mall, just a few doors from Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. He reportedly lingered for about half an hour, describing the pieces as "exquisite" and "interesting."

Laopu’s first overseas store, opened in Singapore in June, drew peak wait times of around two hours and saw a larger share of local shoppers compared with its more tourist-heavy Hong Kong and Macau outlets, The Business Times reported, citing financial holdings firm Nomura.

But the company has also recently faced challenges. Since its peak in July, the firm’s shares had retreated 35% to HK$702 by Oct. 10. Industry experts believe the pullback was largely driven by two price increases this year, in March and August, which have set its products beyond what many shoppers are prepared to pay, according to 36Kr.

Its popularity has also dwindled in recent months, partly due to the market seeing a wave of cheaper alternatives offering similar designs, according to Veronica Wang, partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants in Hong Kong.

"What they (Laopu) have managed to do before was to charge a very high premium over the gold product that was justified by the craftsmanship. But if consumers can find similar products with much lower premium charge then some of them might shift away," she told the Financial Times.

And while it positions itself in the high-end segment, luxury shoppers do not consider it on par with global labels. One such consumer, Laura Yu, the founder of lab-grown diamond label Circe, describes Laopu’s core clientele as "very typical urban middle-class," noting that many of her employees wear the brand to the office.

"I don’t think it touches the clients of Chanel or Hermes. Laopu hurts the traditional gold brands more than the luxury brands," she noted.

Its investment appeal could also weaken if gold prices decline. Even so, industry observers say Laopu still has the potential to grow into a true luxury contender.

"It's not an imminent threat to global luxury groups because to build a luxury brand takes a long time. You need a story, you need a history, you need the craftsmanship," Jonathan Yan, a principal at consultancy Roland Berger in Shanghai, said. "If you have the best-in-class design, good quality, good service, it's possible."