Six months ago, Metersbonwe's stock price once fell below 1 yuan per share, with delisting risks looming over this apparel industry leader.

However, since that day, Metersbonwe's stock price has stabilized and shown strength.

As of the latest closing, Metersbonwe's stock price settled at 2.14 yuan per share. Despite recent pullbacks, the stock has still surged by 111.88% in less than six months. With this sharp rise, the delisting risks have "vanished into thin air."

That said, while short-term delisting risks have subsided, Metersbonwe's fundamentals remain far from optimistic.

According to the Q3 report, Metersbonwe's revenue and net profit for the first three quarters were 525.1 million yuan and 51.82 million yuan, respectively, with growth rates of -37.28% and 24.46%.

Although net profit showed year-on-year growth, this wasn’t driven by operations. In the first three quarters, Metersbonwe recorded asset disposal gains of 67.78 million yuan. Looking at the more operationally reflective adjusted net profit, the company posted a loss of 58.11 million yuan, indicating continued operational struggles.

Despite little change in actual operations, the stock price has surged over the past six months. Is this rally in Metersbonwe's stock driven by speculation or a genuine turnaround?

35 Billion Lost in 9 Years

As a once-popular national casualwear brand, Metersbonwe has struggled mightily over the past decade.

Looking back, signs of decline emerged as early as 2012. After peaking at 9.51 billion yuan in revenue that year, sales gradually fell to 6.621 billion yuan by 2014—a one-third drop in just two years.

In hindsight, this was just the beginning of the collapse. Over the next decade, revenue declines accelerated.

By the end of 2023, revenue had dwindled to just 1.356 billion yuan—a mere 14% of 2012 levels after 11 years.

Revenue shrinkage paled in comparison to profit erosion. In 2012, Metersbonwe posted stellar earnings of 850 million yuan, but by 2015, it recorded its first-ever loss of 432 million yuan. In subsequent years, losses far outweighed gains, with cumulative losses exceeding 3.5 billion yuan from 2015 to 2023.

Why did Metersbonwe fall from grace so rapidly post-2012? The reasons lie in both internal missteps and external pressures.

Internally, the company's early success stemmed from its unique "self-designed, outsourced production, franchised sales" model—a capital-light approach focusing on brand management rather than manufacturing or direct retail. This fueled rapid expansion, with store counts exceeding 4,000 by 2011. However, the model backfired: franchisees ordered based on sales rather than corporate planning, and with swelling dealer numbers, inventory piled up catastrophically.

Externally, 2012 saw the meteoric rise of global fast-fashion brands like ZARA, H&M, and Uniqlo, whose agile supply chains and affordable products captured market share. Simultaneously, sportswear brands like Li Ning and Anta expanded into casualwear, further fragmenting Metersbonwe's market. The e-commerce boom that year also hammered its brick-and-mortar-heavy strategy.

Resurrection or Mirage?

Persistent poor performance kept Metersbonwe's stock depressed for years.

On June 26 this year, shares briefly dipped below 1 yuan (0.94 yuan at lowest), raising imminent delisting fears for this former industry titan.

But the stock rebounded sharply from that low, closing recently at 2.14 yuan—a 111.88% surge in under six months, dispelling delisting concerns.

What triggered this dramatic reversal? The return of founder Zhou Chengjian proved pivotal. In early 2024, Metersbonwe announced Chairman Hu Jiajia's resignation, with Zhou reassuming roles as Chairman and President.

Zhou initiated sweeping reforms: slashing headcount from 2,871 in late 2020 to 992 by end-2023, and aggressively pivoting to livestream e-commerce. In 2023, Metersbonwe established its e-commerce HQ in Hangzhou and launched official accounts on Douyin (TikTok's Chinese version).

Media reports highlight immediate results—the Douyin flagship amassed 919,000 followers in three months, while Tmall sales during 2023's Singles' Day grew 269% sequentially. Two recent Taobao livestreams by "Metersbonwe Zhou Chengjian" reportedly achieved 30 million yuan GMV, 7.5 million views, six "million-yuan products," and a top-selling 40-million-yuan item.

For Metersbonwe, livestreaming's success offers a glimmer of hope. Yet financials tell a sobering story: Q1-Q3 revenue fell 37.28% to 525.1 million yuan, while net profit of 51.82 million (up 24.46%) relied entirely on 67.78 million yuan from asset sales. Adjusted net profit remained negative at -58.11 million yuan.

Q3 performance worsened sharply, with revenue plunging 60.29% to 110.7 million yuan and net loss expanding 179.56% to 26.94 million yuan.

While e-commerce livestreams have brought some relief, intensifying competition in this space leaves Metersbonwe's long-term prospects uncertain.