Mao Yuanchang Glasses IPO in Hong Kong: The actual controller opened a store in Northwest at age 13. Who has been pocketing the industry's "huge profits"?

On April 2, the time-honored Chinese eyewear company Zhejiang Maoyuan Chang Eyeglasses Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Maoyuan Chang”), which has more than 160 years of history, filed its prospectus with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, planning to list on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Founded in 1862 in Hangzhou, the century-old brand’s actual controller, however, is a Zhejiang Ruian businessman who ventured around the northwest and opened an eyeglass store in Lanzhou, Gansu at the age of 13. The businessman, who had been out making his way since his youth, after 31 years in business, at age 43, studied at a vocational college and then obtained the national Grade Two Optometrist professional qualification certificate.

Under Jin Zengmin’s control, Maoyuan Chang’s gross margin does indeed match the “excessive profits” level that most people associate with the industry. In 2025, the company’s gross margin reached 61.10%. But unexpectedly, its net profit margin for the year was only 15.52%; in 2024, the net profit margin fell to single digits. In the eyewear industry, who exactly took the “excessive profits”?

A glasses merchant who started a business at 13, takes over a century-old brand

Maoyuan Chang is a Hangzhou eyeglasses brand founded in 1862. In 2006, it was recognized by the Ministry of Commerce as a “time-honored brand in China.” The brand’s heritage is deep. With the opportunity of a restructuring in 2012, Jin Zengmin, from Wenzhou, became the actual controller. He is not capital from Zhejiang in the traditional sense, but rather an eyeglass merchant from Lanzhou, Gansu.

Born in September 1973, Jin Zengmin is from Ruian in Zhejiang. At a very young age, he went out alone to the far northwest (according to materials from the Hangzhou website’s Good Person awards). In 1986, at age 13, he leased a storefront in Lanzhou and opened an outlet called “Keda Eyeglasses.” This marked the official start of Jin Zengmin’s entrepreneurial career.

Jin Zengmin’s entrepreneurial story has another version as well. According to the Zhejiang Business magazine, Jin Zengmin once said, “When I was a kid, our family was poor. In the year I turned 16, my mother said my studies weren’t going well, and then told me to go out and venture.”

In 1996, Jin Zengmin founded Lanzhou Keda Eyeglasses Optical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Lanzhou Keda”). Afterwards, Keda Eyeglasses became a regional chain of eyeglasses retail outlets in the Lanzhou area. Lanzhou Keda Eyeglasses has since reshaped its brand into “Lan Keda Eyeglasses.”

Having established a foothold in Lanzhou, Jin Zengmin returned to his hometown. In 2011, Jin Zengmin and Huang Chuansxiang, a fellow villager from Ruian, agreed to jointly participate in the publicly auctioned sale of Maoyuan Chang Eyeglasses (then called Hangzhou Maoyuan Chang Eyeglasses Co., Ltd.)—for 75% of the state-owned shares—held on the Hangzhou Property Rights Exchange.

Ultimately, after 11 rounds of bidding, the Ruibiao Group Co., Ltd., representing Jin Zengmin and Huang Chuansxiang, beat two other bidders and became the winning bidder at a price of 79 million yuan. After that, a friend passed away, and Hangzhou Dashengchang, which was wholly owned by Jin Zengmin, acquired the target shares. At that point, Maoyuan Chang Eyeglasses was jointly controlled by Jin Zengmin and Hangzhou Industrial Assets Management and Investment Group Co., Ltd. (now called Hangzhou Industrial Investment).

On August 13, 2012, the transaction was completed with the business registration and industrial-commercial changes. From then on, the equity structure of Maoyuan Chang Eyeglasses changed to 75% held by Jin Zengmin, and 25% held by state-owned capital. A businessman who started out in the Lanzhou eyeglasses retail market officially became the actual controller of the century-old brand “Maoyuan Chang.”

After the acquisition was completed, Jin Zengmin did not stop consolidating operations. In August 2020, he established a new listed entity, “Zhejiang Maoyuan Chang Eyeglasses Co., Ltd.,” and injected the relevant businesses of Maoyuan Chang Eyeglasses. In December 2021, Jin Zengmin further contributed 100% of the equity in “Lanzhou Keda,” which he had founded earlier, achieving the integration of the two regional brands, forming “Maoyuan Chang Eyeglasses,” which is now racing to list on Hong Kong stocks.

Jin Zengmin serves as Chairman of the Board, Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer, and General Manager, and is also the actual controller of Maoyuan Chang Eyeglasses. Among the company’s five seats for executive directors, the three-person family consisting of Jin Zengmin, his wife Peng Meiliu, and his son JinLei is in place. Peng Meiliu is also the company’s Chief Financial Officer, and JinLei also serves as the Product Director. As of the latest date that is actually feasible, Jin Zengmin, through direct or indirect shareholding, together controls 78.38% of the company’s voting rights.

“Excessive profits” eroded by rent, labor, and more

From 2023 to 2025, Maoyuan Chang’s revenue was 272 million yuan, 250 million yuan, and 265 million yuan, respectively. Self-operated stores are an absolute basic business, but revenue is not stable. During the same period, revenue from self-operated stores was 207 million yuan, 185 million yuan, and 196 million yuan, respectively.

It is worth noting that the number of franchised stores fell steadily from 205 to 194, but franchise business total revenue increased from 59.41M yuan to 65.84 million yuan. The share rose from 21.80% to 24.80%.

The decline in the number of franchised stores led to a drop in revenue from wholesale eyeglasses. However, revenue increased against the trend, and the answer lies in franchise management fees. The company’s franchise management fees increased from 2.36M yuan from the previous year to 10.22M yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 333.20%. The reason is that starting in 2025, the company began charging a unified 6% management fee to 165 franchised stores within Zhejiang Province.

On the profit side, in the perception of most consumers, eyeglasses are a “high-profit” industry, and Maoyuan Chang shows a side beyond common perception. From 2023 to 2025, the company’s gross margin was 58.30%, 57.10%, and 61.10%, respectively. However, during the same period, Maoyuan Chang’s net profit margin was only 13.64%, 7.21%, and 15.52%, respectively—especially in 2024, when the net profit margin fell to single digits.

The root cause of low net profit lies in high and rigid expenses. Taking 2024 as an example, the company’s revenue was 250 million yuan, while selling expenses were as high as 105 million yuan, with a selling expense ratio of 42.02%. Of this, employee costs accounted for 16.99% of revenue, and depreciation of right-of-use assets and property-related fees accounted for 13.75%. In addition, to push forward brand upgrades, Maoyuan Chang held a launch event in 2024, which further increased marketing expenses.

In short, the “excessive profits” in eyeglasses are diluted layer by layer at the factory or wholesale stages by rent, labor, and marketing. Together, this results in a large gap between gross profit and net profit. In 2025, the company’s net profit margin rebounded to 15.52%, mainly due to a surge in franchise management fee income and marketing activities returning to normal.

Peng Pai News reporter Pang Jingtao

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