--- title: "High Gold Prices Reshape Jewelry Channel Landscape: CHOW TAI SENG Contracts Franchise Operations and Expands Self-Operated Business" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/284532876.md" description: "Profitability significantly improved" datetime: "2026-04-29T09:21:24.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/284532876.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284532876.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/284532876.md) --- # High Gold Prices Reshape Jewelry Channel Landscape: CHOW TAI SENG Contracts Franchise Operations and Expands Self-Operated Business Sustained high gold prices are accelerating the reshaping of channel structures and profit models in the jewelry industry. In 2025, CHOW TAI SENG reported operating revenue of RMB 8.815 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 36.54%, marking the second consecutive year of declining revenue for the company. However, net profit attributable to shareholders reached RMB 1.103 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9.22%, indicating that profitability rose rather than fell. Entering the first quarter of 2026, this trend further intensified: single-quarter revenue amounted to RMB 1.954 billion, a year-on-year decline of 26.9%; yet net profit attributable to shareholders bucked the trend, growing by 16.38% to RMB 293 million. The primary cause of the revenue decline is clear. High gold prices have suppressed terminal consumption, causing downstream franchisees' willingness to restock to drop to freezing point, with most adopting inventory reduction strategies. In 2025, CHOW TAI SENG's franchise business revenue plummeted by 57.62% year-on-year to RMB 3.894 billion, with its share of total revenue shrinking from 66.13% in the same period of the previous year to 44.17%. However, the contraction of the franchise channel has instead optimized the overall gross margin structure. Since self-operated and e-commerce businesses directly face end consumers, their gross margins are significantly higher than the volume-driven franchise wholesale model. The shift in channel focus has naturally lifted the quality of earnings. By the first quarter of 2026, CHOW TAI SENG's offline self-operated revenue surged by 39% year-on-year, while e-commerce revenue grew by 32.01%. The combined revenue share of these two channels approached 74%. The expansion of self-operated channels was not a passive acceptance but the result of proactive planning. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, the company's net number of self-operated stores increased to 390, continuously densifying the layout of sub-brand stores such as "CHOW TAI SENG × National Treasure" and "CHOW TAI SENG Classic" in core business districts. In the first quarter, the gross margin of CHOW TAI SENG's self-operated channels reached 39.29%, a year-on-year increase of 6.87 percentage points. The deepening of the brand matrix has become a key chip for resisting cyclical fluctuations. In 2025, the company completed a comprehensive upgrade of the "CHOW TAI SENG × National Treasure" brand, positioning it as "National Treasure Cultural Heritage Premium Gold Products," targeting the high-end cultural gold segment and aiming at high-net-worth customers who are less sensitive to gold prices. In addition, "CHOW TAI SENG Classic" focuses on the intangible cultural heritage fashion segment, while "Zhuan Zhu Ge" explores Chinese-style cultural and creative bead strings. The multi-brand synergy covers multiple market layers, including mass-market weddings, fashion consumption, and high-end collections. Looking ahead to 2026, the company positions it as a key year for the full launch of a "strategic offensive," clearly defining three core themes: "brand matrixization, AI digital intelligence, and globalization." The globalization strategy has moved from preliminary exploration to systematic promotion. The company is focusing on key overseas markets with high recognition of Chinese culture, actively advancing the layout of the first batch of benchmark stores, and exploring a dual-track operating model combining cross-border e-commerce with offline experience stores. Under the path of "contracting franchises and expanding self-operated business," CHOW TAI SENG is gradually shifting from an asset-light model dominated by wholesale to a retail model with heavier operations and stronger brand drive. During this transformation process, short-term profit improvement and long-term growth logic are not entirely consistent. If gold prices remain high, there is still uncertainty regarding the recovery of industry demand; and if gold prices fall in the future, whether the channel structure and product matrix can accommodate a new round of demand release will also become a key variable. The true inflection point for growth still awaits finding a new balance between demand recovery and capability realization. ### Related Stocks - [NEM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NEM.US.md) - [600489.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/600489.CN.md) - [002867.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/002867.CN.md) - [600547.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/600547.CN.md) - [601899.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/601899.CN.md) - [KGC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/KGC.US.md) - [AEM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AEM.US.md) - [02824.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/02824.HK.md) - [GDXJ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GDXJ.US.md) - [GLDM.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GLDM.US.md) - [GLD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GLD.US.md) - [RING.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RING.US.md) - [518850.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/518850.CN.md) - [GDX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GDX.US.md) - [159562.CN](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/159562.CN.md) - [UGL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/UGL.US.md) - [IAU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IAU.US.md) - [GOEX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOEX.US.md) - [82824.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/82824.HK.md) - [NUGT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NUGT.US.md) - [SGOL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/SGOL.US.md) - [09824.HK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/09824.HK.md) ## Related News & Research - [PRECIOUS-Gold set for weekly drop as higher oil prices stoke inflation fears](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283916128.md) - [Newmont Rides Soaring Gold Prices To Blowout Earnings, Unleashes $6 Billion Buyback](https://longbridge.com/en/news/283981311.md) - [BUZZ-US-listed gold miners slide as bullion hits three-week low](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284352434.md) - [Surging gold bar purchases led total bullion demand up 2% y/y in Q1](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284501506.md) - [Gold miners set to stay in Mali despite attacks, industry sources say](https://longbridge.com/en/news/284403421.md)