Towards the end of last year, the investment community was abuzz: the IPO of Chinese premium cosmetics manufacturer Mao Geping demonstrated the world’s best performance over the previous four years, instantly making its founder, makeup artist Mao Geping, a billionaire. Investors’ keen interest in the brand stemmed from its remarkable results both locally and globally. Yet, this wasn’t an isolated case. As Chinese companies continue to conquer new segments of local and global economies, researchers are striving to identify the key secrets behind their success, offering valuable lessons for other businesses venturing onto unfamiliar markets.
On 10 December 2024, the name of Chinese makeup artist Mao Geping hit the headlines across major business publications, triggered by the frenzy surrounding the IPO of his eponymous brand. On the first trading day in Hong Kong, the shares surged by 92% compared to the starting price. The placement raised USD 300 million, with retail investors oversubscribing the book more than 900-fold and institutional ones over 30-fold. According to Dealogic data, Mao Geping’s debut marked the best result for an IPO valued over USD 100 million since 2000.
Geping’s journey to success could be a film scenario. From childhood, Geping was captivated by Yueju opera, one of China’s traditional opera genres, eventually becoming a professional performer. “While working on my characters, I paid special attention to studying makeup techniques”, he shared with Vogue. At age 20, Mao suddenly had to stand in for a sick theatre makeup artist, a fortuitous turn of events that shifted his focus from stage acting to backstage work.
During his studies at Shanghai Theatre Academy, Geping experimented extensively with makeup, learning how to transform his facial features beyond recognition by highlighting and shadowing various areas. Later, he developed this skill into his unique contouring technique. Widespread acclaim came in the late 1990s, recalls the Chinese resource The Paper. In a TV drama portraying Empress Wu Zetian, the makeup artist helped actress Liu Xiaoqing, then aged 40, convincingly transform herself into both a 15-year-old girl and an 80-year-old woman.
In 2000, Mao Geping established a makeup school, launched his own beauty brand and began opening counters in Chinese department stores. Ebrun, a media outlet focused on Chinese e-commerce, described how the entrepreneur tested his creations: once, to compare the durability of his powder against international brands’, he put on a warm jacket, cranked up the heat to max, and stayed in a sealed room for over five hours.
One of Geping’s defining characteristics was his incorporation of ancient traditions and Chinese cultural heritage into his techniques and products. For instance, as reported by China Daily, he used gold and golden glitter in one line of cosmetics, harking back to the tradition among women of northern Chinese tribes during the 10th–12th centuries of applying golden rouge. Another series inspired by the history of Beijing’s Forbidden City, a former imperial residence, featured designs reflecting artifacts from the collections in Beijing’s Palace Museum, visible in lipsticks, rouge, and eyeshadows.
Skilful marketing and social media engagement fuelled his success further. According to the Hong Kong-based publication Standard, although Geping initially gained fame in the 1980s, nowadays over 80% of his followers on the Chinese video platform Bilibili belong to Generation Z. Meanwhile, Bloomberg has highlighted that collaboration with Chinese athletes at the Olympics in Paris allowed the brand to tap into national pride.
Over a quarter-century, Mao Geping Cosmetics evolved from a small business into a competitor for giants like Estée Lauder and L’Oreal. South China Morning Post reports that it is the sole local company among the top 10 premium beauty brands on the Chinese market: according to Frost & Sullivan data from 2023, it ranked seventh, with a market share of 1.8%. Hwi Chung, director of the Chinese beauty sector at research firm Kantar Worldpanel based in Shanghai, told Forbes that Mao Geping products might better suit Asian consumers’ skin types, leading to increased interest in local brands. Although starting as a regional player, the brand is gradually gaining popularity outside mainland China: Mao’s powders and lipsticks are available not only in Hong Kong’s Sephora stores but also on Russian online marketplaces.
What is the secret to the success of Chinese entrepreneurs, enabling them to surprise global markets? Economists Mark Greeven, George Yip, and Wei Wei outline several factors in their book Pioneers, Hidden Champions, Changemakers, and Underdogs: Lessons from China’s Innovators. First, Chinese companies respond faster to local customers’ needs than multinational corporations. Second, they cater for a broader range of consumer demands, often achieved by introducing multiple product versions onto the market. Among other distinctive traits are quick decision-making, constant technological upgrades, and masterful networking skills: Chinese entrepreneurs are not afraid to enter into unusual partnerships to innovate beyond their industries.
The best ideas born in China are studied closely by entrepreneurs on emerging markets, seeking to apply them domestically. Some successful examples of this strategy are outlined in the study Case Studies of the Emulation of Chinese Entrepreneurial Business Models conducted by researchers from Harvard Business School, MIT, Harvard University, and Warwick University.
One example highlighted by the researchers is the Brazilian startup Facily. Its creation was inspired by the success of the Chinese app Pinduoduo, known for extremely low prices and group purchasing options (for instance, the cost of a box of tomatoes could drop by half if friends join forces and order collectively). Facily introduced similar cheap collective purchases but adapted the idea to meet specific local needs. While the Chinese model emphasizes online payments, Facily customers can pay cash or use Boleto, a voucher-based payment system favoured by low-income Brazilians. TechCrunch noted that this innovation opened up online shopping opportunities to many residents lacking bank accounts. Founded in 2018, Facily experienced rapid growth during the pandemic and announced in 2021 that it had reached a valuation of USD 1 billion, earning unicorn status.
A notable Chinese example worth emulating is the Yu’e Bao money market fund, launched by internet giant Alibaba in 2013. The essence of Yu’e Bao lies in providing sellers on the platform with an opportunity to invest sales proceeds in various instruments within the fund. Unlike many banking products, Yu’e Bao focuses on ease of use and accessibility, having no minimum deposit threshold. From its inception, the fund actively utilized viral marketing strategies on social networks. By 2017, Yu’e Bao had become the biggest money market fund globally, managing assets exceeding CNY 200 billion. Though it subsequently lost its title as the world’s biggest fund, it continues to grow vigorously within the Chinese market.
India took inspiration from the Chinese model. In 2016, Groww was established with the mission to democratize investing. Drawing insights from the Chinese market, Groww’s founders concluded that simplicity of use would be paramount for Indian consumers, akin to Chinese preferences. Even so, unlike Yu’e Bao, Groww immediately offered investments in stocks alongside financial education content such as blogs, videos, and tutorials. By March 2024, Groww had amassed 9.5 million active investors, capturing a 23% market share among India’s discount brokers (brokers facilitating transactions for investors at reduced rates – Ed.).
As the authors of the study emphasize, business models originating from Chinese companies frequently serve as sources of inspiration for entrepreneurs in developing countries. These models tend to align better with the needs, constraints, and specifics of other emerging markets compared to those developed in the US or other high-income nations. This feature of Chinese entrepreneurship likely explains why Chinese business models have spread significantly and been successful in other developing regions. Nevertheless, an essential caveat exists: adapting the model to fit the local environment is crucial for achieving success.
