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

We hosted China luxury and gold jewel tours on 24-25 Sep and 8 Oct, talking to company management, store managers, experts. Key takeaways include: (1) clear signs of enhanced brand equity – consumers willing to wait in line even right after price increases or promotion periods; (2) for Aug-Sep in aggregate (to exclude the timing difference of price adjustments in 2024/25),strong momentum continued for retail sales; (3) new product launches to 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 locations and larger areas (targeting >150sqm, vs. mostly <100sqm currently)to further elevate brand equity. Yet, there is still ample room for store expansion, as there are c50 qualified shopping malls whereas Laopu has entered 29 as of 1H25. The performance of the newly-opened 400 sqm Hong Kong IFC boutique echoed our observations with 1-2 hours queuing time since its opening, again demonstrating Laopu’s elevated brand equity. We fine-tune our 25E-27E earnings estimates and extended our price target timeframe to Jun-2026 with a new DCF-based PT of HK$1,296, implying 24x 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 national pride. Reiterate OW. Laopu is one of our top picks in the China Consumer sector.