Once the &#34;stock god,&#34; Youngor (600177.SH) is accelerating the sale of its long-held positions.
As of June 23, the cumulative transaction amount over the past year reached 4.175 billion yuan, accounting for 10.13% of the unaudited net assets by the end of 2024.
The aforementioned holdings are classified as &#34;other comprehensive income financial assets,&#34; meaning that only dividend income can be counted as current investment income, while stock price fluctuations and disposals do not affect current profit and loss.
The large-scale sale of stocks can be seen as the company's commitment to returning to its core business strategy.
Youngor's chairman, Li Rucheng, stated at the 2024 shareholders' meeting: &#34;Exiting real estate and gradually reducing financial investments is a natural response to the broader environment, which significantly impacts operational performance, but it is something the company must do in line with economic conditions.&#34;
The assets sold by the company include core targets such as CITIC Limited and CITIC Bank, which have provided stable dividends over the long term.
For Youngor, which has not yet completed its business transformation, selling such assets may have a negative impact on long-term returns.
The investment sector brought in over 2.2 billion yuan in revenue for Youngor in 2024, contributing nearly 80%.
In the same period, the net profit from the fashion apparel business was only 430 million yuan, a year-on-year decline of 44%.
In recent years, the company has continuously promoted its merger and acquisition strategy, frequently investing in clothing brands and offline retail.
In 2024, the company partnered with the French high-end handmade shoe brand CORTHAY to open three independent stores in high-end shopping centers such as Beijing SKP, Wuhan SKP, and Nanjing Deji.
It acquired the &#34;Hermès of children's wear,&#34; the French high-end children's fashion brand Bonpoint, for 1.53 billion yuan.
At the same time, substantial funds have been invested in optimizing offline retail experiences.
In 2024, Youngor added 46 self-operated stores and upgraded 164 stores, bringing the total number of self-operated stores to 1,777, with a business area increase of 48,800 square meters.
The company continues to implement a strategy of opening large stores and closing small ones, establishing large &#34;business clubs&#34; covering thousands of square meters in key cities such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou.
Youngor stated that channel construction is the main investment direction for the current and near future. The company will further strengthen budget management and enhance overall business cooperation.
The &#34;overall cooperation&#34; model is a common approach when luxury groups like LVMH and Anta's outdoor brand matrix enter shopping malls.
This involves achieving overall cooperation between multiple brands under the group and leading commercial entities at the group headquarters level.
In 2024, Youngor's main brand will enter the high-end luxury mall MixC for the first time, while MAYOR, HELLY HANSEN, and UNDEFEATED continue to expand in high-end shopping centers.
The high-end channel development is expected to support the overall upward movement of many brands under the listed company.
The parent company, Youngor Group, which acquired Intime Department Store, may contribute more to the expansion of high-end channels.
In June, Dalian Commercial Group and Youngor Group reached a strategic cooperation agreement, with both parties formulating a specific plan to increase Youngor's brand sales in Dalian Commercial Group by 20 times by 2030.
At the same time, Dalian Department Store, Intime Department Store, and Xinjiang Youhao Department Store established a &#34;triangular department store commercial ecological alliance.&#34; In the future, 151 department stores will leverage synergies to jointly enhance joint investment and sales
The performance improvement of the apparel sector will take time.
Before that, the company will continue to face cash flow challenges.
By the end of 2024, Youngor's cash ratio is 0.32, down 0.06 compared to the same period in 2023.
In the first quarter, the company added approximately 1.2 billion yuan in short-term loans, and cash and cash equivalents increased by 18% quarter-on-quarter to 9.16 billion yuan, with the cash ratio rebounding to 0.38

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Accelerating the divestment of dividend stocks to return to the main business, Youngor realized 4.1 billion yuan in a year