New stock preview | Annual revenue exceeds 500 million, how can the copper cultural and creative "leader" Copper Master break through the ceiling of "low" questioning?

In recent years, with an increasing number of young people turning their attention to traditional Chinese culture, "Guochao" has evolved from an emerging concept into a strong force in the consumer market that cannot be ignored. From clothing with traditional patterns to makeup infused with classical aesthetics, from innovative products from old brands to technological breakthroughs from domestic brands, Guochao is penetrating daily consumption in diverse forms. As Guochao culture rises powerfully, more and more related companies are seizing the opportunity to focus on the secondary market. On November 11th, Hangzhou Copper Master Crafts (Group) Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Copper Master") submitted its prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the 2nd time, planning to go public on the main board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with CICC as the exclusive sponsor. The company is a typical representative of the "Guochao" consumer upgrade, founded in 2013, a leading cultural and creative craft product brand rooted in Chinese cultural heritage. It is reported that this is not Copper Master's first submission, the company had previously submitted an application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on May 9, 2025, which eventually failed. Prior to that, it had also attempted to go public on the ChiNext board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in June but terminated the process in September 2024. Behind the repeated attempts to go public, on one hand, it highlights Copper Master's search for growth breakthroughs, while on the other hand, it exposes the dual pressures of industry ceilings and homogenized competition that the company currently faces. So, can Copper Master find a "good breakthrough" in the secondary market with its Hong Kong listing this time? Leading copper cultural and creative company with annual revenue exceeding 500 million According to GMTEight's observations, Copper Master mainly uses copper as the core material, covering multiple categories of products such as copper cultural and creative products, plastic toys, silver cultural and creative products, and gold cultural and creative products, with copper cultural and creative products being the core of the product matrix. From 2022 to 2024, copper cultural and creative products accounted for 95.4%, 96.3%, and 96.6% of the total revenue during the same period. With the ultimate pursuit of craftsmanship details and precise control of popular products, Copper Master became a leading cultural and creative brand in the country after more than ten years of development. According to the Frost & Sullivan report, as of the year ended December 31, 2024, the company ranked first in the Chinese copper cultural and creative craft product market in terms of total revenue, with a market share of 35.0%, demonstrating a strong position in this segment of the metal cultural and creative craft product market (which accounts for about 6.3%). As of the years ended December 31, 2022, 2023, and 2024, and the six months ended on June 30, 2025, Copper Master has respectively introduced 407, 350, 528, 190, 240, and 174 new SKUs based on self-developed IP. During the same period, the company also released 176, 164, 179, 87, 50, and 81 new SKUs based on authorized IP. In terms of operating model, Copper Master has adopted an efficient "DTC+content" direct sales model, relying mainly on online channels such as Tmall flagship stores, Douyin live streaming, and mini-programs to interact directly with consumers. This model allows them to control pricing and all profits, as well as deepen interactions with users and accumulate valuable user data. Additionally, the company is well-versed in the logic of internet hot items, collaborating with well-known artists (such as Yanhong) and creating series of products ("Journey to the West series", "Cat series"), to continually create market hotspots. Their limited edition sales model creates scarcity and stimulates the desire to collect. Due to the "Guochao leading" Matthew effect and precise and effective strategic layout, Copper Master's performance in recent years has shown significant growth trends, with high growth and profitability characteristics. According to the prospectus, from 2022 to 2024, the company achieved operating revenues of 503 million yuan, 506 million yuan, and 571 million yuan, respectively, with net profits of 56.938 million yuan, 44.131 million yuan, and 78.982 million yuan, showing a strong growth trend. During the same period, the gross profit margins were 32.2%, 32.4%, and 35.4%, respectively, which are relatively considerable compared to other fast-moving consumer goods categories. However, in the first half of 2025, Copper Master faced a situation where revenue increased but profits did not: during the period, the company's revenue was 308 million yuan, an increase of 8.8% from the same period last year; while profit was 30.24 million yuan, a decrease of 24% from the same period last year. The decline in net profits may be related to factors such as increased sales and research and development expenses, fluctuations in raw materials, and a decrease in average unit price. However, the company's revenue continued to grow (+8.8%), and the gross profit margin remained stable (35.1%), indicating the resilience of its core business. From the above, as a "leading" copper cultural and creative company, Copper Master has both high growth and resilience. With a relatively low industry ceiling, where is the breakthrough point? The track that Copper Master is on is a niche market that combines consumption, art, and collectibility, showing a clear "small but refined" characteristic. Specifically, although the Chinese cultural and creative craft market exceeded 354 billion yuan in 2024, the copper craft product segment shows a "small but refined" feature. The Frost & Sullivan report shows that the Chinese copper cultural and creative craft product market was only about 1.6 billion yuan in 2024, accounting for less than 0.5% of the cultural and creative market. Although it is expected to grow to 2.282 billion yuan by 2029, the growth potential is relatively limited. The emergence of this data undoubtedly also means that Copper Master's copper cultural and creative craft product market is relatively niche, with a limited target audience, and the industry ceiling is not high. For Copper Master, this industry development characteristic is not necessarily a good thing that is, how can Copper Master break through its existing fan circle, attract a broader audience of consumers, or face the core challenge of continued growth. In addition, Copper Master also faces challenges in product category expansion and IP dependence and authorization risks. On the one hand, the company's core products are concentrated in copper and wood carvings, with relatively single material and category, uncertainty exists when expanding to other materials; on the other hand, popular products are highly dependent on external IP authorization, which comes with limitations on duration and scope, and renewal costs may rise. The company needs to balance the relationship between external IP and self-created IP. Therefore, for this "leading" copper cultural and creative company, the issue at hand is not just the dividend of the "Guochao rising" but also the survival problem of how to break through the growth bottleneck. Of course, Copper Master is not passively waiting for the arrival of a tailwind, but is using a precise combination of modern design as a transformation tool, traditional craftsmanship as a value anchor, and online socialization as an amplification tool, ultimately elevating products into a symbol of cultural confidence and quality life and creating itself as a landmark brand in the wave of "Guochao". Looking ahead, Copper Master's path to breakthrough lies in the combination of "upgrading" and "sinking" in terms of upgrading: strengthening the brand's cultural value and artistic attributes, aiming for high premiums, and becoming a representative of Oriental aesthetics. In terms of sinking: normalizing the application of copper, diversifying price ranges, aiming for large-scale operations, allowing more people to access and consume copper culture at a lower threshold. In short, when the definition of a brand transcends the product itself, its ceiling naturally expands. Conclusion Overall, in the capital market, targets like Copper Master that perfectly combine traditional culture, craftsmanship spirit, and internet marketing are not common. This uniqueness will attract investors with specific preferences. This can be seen in Copper Master's shareholding structure, as disclosed in the prospectus, which includes investors such as Shunwei Capital, Xiaomi Group, Kaihui Small and Medium Enterprises Fund, Guozhong Fund, Baiquan Nahai, CCTV Fund, among others. Investing in it, to some extent, is investing in the future of Chinese "Guochao" culture. However, at the same time, investors must recognize the niche nature of its track and the growth risks it faces during expansion.