HK Stock Market Move | LAOPU GOLD (06181) fell nearly 7% to hit a new low for the year. Price-sensitive customers are being lost and sales are weak for SKP and 618 events.

LAOPU GOLD (06181) fell nearly 7% in the afternoon, reaching a low of 404.2 Hong Kong dollars, hitting a new low for the year. As of the time of writing, it fell by 6.9% to 404.8 Hong Kong dollars, with a trading volume of 4.14 billion Hong Kong dollars. Citigroup released a research report stating that LAOPU GOLD's weak sales in the second quarter were mainly attributed to weak promotions at SKP in April and weak performance during the Tmall 618 event. These two channels have a large number of price-sensitive customers who chose to defect after the significant increase in the company's products' premium and the fall in gold prices. The bank estimates that these two main channels previously accounted for approximately 30% of sales (now reduced to about 20%), and the decline was not fully offset by the sales of newly opened large stores in the second half of 2025. Nomura, on the other hand, stated that LAOPU GOLD has underperformed the market and some of its peers this year. This is mainly due to the increased volatility in gold prices since March, as well as the capital markets' preference for technology and AI themes over consumer stocks. The bank believes that the downward risk of sales slowing down due to gold price fluctuations has been largely reflected. If in the coming months, with the peace agreements in the Middle East and improvements in geopolitical conditions, gold prices stabilize, the pessimism in the capital markets towards LAOPU GOLD's sales in the second half of the year is expected to ease.