JPM-Laopu Gold-H Enhanced brand equity-China luxury gold jewel tour takeaways；maintain OW-20251014

<p style="text-indent:28px"><span style="font-size: 14px;">We hosted China luxury and gold jewel tours on 24-25 Sep and 8 Oct, talking</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">to company management, store managers, experts. Key takeaways include: (1)</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">clear signs of enhanced brand equity – consumers willing to wait in line</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">even right after price increases or promotion periods; (2) for Aug-Sep in</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">aggregate (to exclude the timing difference of price adjustments in 2024/25),strong momentum continued for retail sales; (3) new product launches to</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">match the festival schedules and new craftsmanship (such as gold lacquer 金胎 漆 器 to use on gold vessels first) targeted to launch by this year; (4)channel focus in mainland in 2026 will be optimization, including better</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">locations and larger areas (targeting &gt;150sqm, vs. mostly &lt;100sqm currently)to further elevate brand equity. Yet, there is still ample room for store</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">expansion, as there are c50 qualified shopping malls whereas Laopu has</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">entered 29 as of 1H25. The performance of the newly-opened 400 sqm Hong</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">Kong IFC boutique echoed our observations with 1-2 hours queuing time</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">since its opening, again demonstrating Laopu’s elevated brand equity. We</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">fine-tune our 25E-27E earnings estimates and extended our price target</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">timeframe to Jun-2026 with a new DCF-based PT of HK$1,296, implying 24x</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">27E P/E. We expect Laopu’s momentum to continue, driven by brand equity,product innovation and strong value proposition in a market that values</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">national pride. Reiterate OW. Laopu is one of our top picks in the China</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">Consumer sector.</span></p><p><br/></p>