Lao Pu Gold's first round of price adjustment in 2026: five adjustments in the past two years with a total increase of 64%

Source: Daily Economic News Author: Du Wei, Bi Yuanyuan

“Bought three old shop gold necklaces and woke up overnight to earn over 23,000 yuan! Two of them increased by 8,000 yuan each, and the other rose by more than 7,000 yuan.” Recently, Beijing resident He Jia (pseudonym) excitedly told the Daily Economic News reporter that this result was worth the several hours he queued before the price increase.

On February 28, Old Shop Gold announced its first price adjustment for 2026. The reporter learned that the price increase for individual items ranged from 20% to 30%, leading the jewelry industry in early-year price hikes.

Since 2026, brands like Chow Sang Sang and Chao Hong Ji have completed price adjustments, mainly focusing on individual product prices or partial category increases; in late February, Chow Tai Fook also announced a price hike scheduled for March. On February 26, the reporter learned that Chow Tai Fook’s fixed-price products could see an increase of 11% to 20%. Compared to others, this round of Old Shop Gold’s price increase may be the highest in the industry.

The reporter also found that Old Shop Gold has undergone five price adjustments in 2024 and 2025, with a total increase of 64%.

What is the confidence behind Old Shop Gold’s frequent price hikes? Currently, it is common for major gold jewelry brands to adjust prices 2 to 3 times a year. Besides responding to international gold price fluctuations and cost pressures, is there a deeper reason behind this collective price increase? How long can Old Shop Gold sustain its continuous price hikes?

“Reducing the emphasis on gold attributes or a significant drop in gold prices will affect Old Shop Gold’s prices and sales,” said Zhou Ting, director of the Key Customer Research Institute and an expert in the luxury goods industry, in an interview. She pointed out that Old Shop Gold has not yet fully broken free from the limitations of gold material.

Old Shop Gold’s maximum increase is 30%

“Yesterday (February 27), I queued early in the morning and bought three gold necklaces in one go. When I woke up today (February 28), I saw I had made over 23,000 yuan in profit!” He Jia told the reporter. On February 27, he queued for several hours at an Old Shop Gold store in Beijing to ‘grab gold,’ spending over 80,000 yuan on three necklaces. By February 28, the total value of these jewelry pieces had exceeded 100,000 yuan.

According to He Jia, after this price adjustment, two of the necklaces of the same style he bought increased in price by 8,000 yuan each, and one increased by more than 7,000 yuan. The reporter roughly calculated that the price increases for these two products were approximately 26.3% and 26.7%, respectively.

After this round of price hikes, Old Shop Gold’s “profits” are not only for He Jia. On February 26, Fang Li (pseudonym) took advantage of Old Shop Gold’s online promotion to buy a necklace (weighing 13.8 grams) priced at 30,180 yuan. On the morning of February 28, Fang Li told the reporter that the price of that necklace had risen to 38,430 yuan. This means the product’s price increased by 8,250 yuan, a 27.3% rise.

The reporter learned that the current price increase range for Old Shop Gold is 20% to 30%. In 2025, Old Shop Gold adjusted prices three times— in February, August, and October—with increases of 5% to 10%, 10% to 12%, and 18% to 25%, respectively.

“In 2025, the total increase from three price adjustments was about 45%, which is lower than the nearly 60% rise in gold prices during the same period,” said an industry insider in gold jewelry to the Daily Economic News.

So, how eager are consumers to buy before the price hikes?

On February 27, the reporter visited Old Shop Gold stores in Beijing and Chengdu and found that since the official announcement of the price adjustment on February 18, queues outside the stores had grown significantly, with some consumers even making lists to inquire about stock availability.

“Early in the morning, we received over 100 calls,” said a staff member at a Beijing Old Shop Gold store. The reporter, posing as a consumer, queued for over two hours to enter the store, where staff said, “The more ‘plain’ the gold, the harder it is to buy.” The term “plain gold” refers to unmounted, simple traditional styles like plain rings or pendants, which are popular due to their high weight and strong value retention.

On the same day, after learning that many Old Shop Gold stores in various cities could not be reached by phone, the reporter contacted a high-end shopping mall in Chengdu. An employee there said, “Since the New Year, almost every day someone has been queuing outside Old Shop Gold stores. The reason you can’t get through is that too many people are calling, and their lines are blocked.”

Major brands regularly raise prices

“Traditional gold jewelry brands like Chow Tai Fook and Lao Fengxiang typically raise prices 2 to 3 times a year, with annual increases of 15% to 20%. High-end brands like Old Shop Gold also raise prices 2 to 3 times annually, with total increases of 30% to 50%, far exceeding the former. Old Shop Gold’s price hikes are the highest, with some products adjusting by as much as 30% in a single adjustment,” Zhou Ting said in an interview.

Why does Old Shop Gold’s price increase lead the industry? Zhou Ting believes that the confidence behind Old Shop Gold’s price hikes lies in “brand strength and the sustained flow of traffic driven by rising gold prices.” Its fixed-price model fundamentally differs from traditional brands’ “gold + labor” model. The former uses regular price adjustments to reinforce its positioning as a luxury item, while the latter mainly offsets increased costs due to gold price rises.

“If Old Shop Gold doesn’t raise prices, given its current profit margins and brand potential, it could directly ‘eat into’ the business of many domestic gold jewelry brands. But its goal is still to target consumers who used to buy traditional luxury goods,” said Chen Dong (pseudonym), a senior executive of a well-known gold jewelry brand. He believes that, considering international gold price fluctuations and industry cost changes, the size of Old Shop Gold’s price adjustments is quite reasonable.

A report from HSBC published on February 26 shows that since January 2024, gold prices have risen 130%, while Old Shop Gold’s product prices have been adjusted five times, with a total increase of 64%. The expectation of further price hikes has increased market demand for high-end, craftsmanship-focused gold jewelry, thereby expanding Old Shop Gold’s market share.

As of the evening of February 27, spot gold prices exceeded $5,220 per ounce. According to GoldTrack, over the past year, international gold prices increased by $2,251 per ounce, a rise of 77.19%.

The sharp fluctuations in raw material prices are the underlying reason for industry-wide price adjustments. Currently, it is standard for jewelry brands to adjust prices 2 to 3 times annually.

Zhou Ting told the Daily Economic News that the price increases by Chow Tai Fook, Old Shop Gold, and others are not only responses to international gold price fluctuations but also reflect the fact that China’s gold jewelry market is entering a high-end development stage. Price hikes are a core strategy for brand premiumization.

“All major brands raising prices indicates that traditional jewelry brands are officially moving toward high-end positioning, becoming followers and challengers to Old Shop Gold. This will likely lead to a future market dominated by high-end brands, with less room for traditional brands that fail to upscale,” Zhou Ting said.

However, does the price increase mean sales are entering a slow season? On the first day of the price adjustment on February 28, the reporter found that most Old Shop Gold stores in Beijing and Chengdu did not show the long queues seen previously.

“There’s usually a cooling-off period after a price hike, but that’s just a decline in the number of buyers, not in the sales volume of individual stores,” Chen Dong said. He explained that China’s consumer structure shows a clear “K-shaped” divergence: one group is rushing to stockpile before prices rise, while another consists of high-net-worth individuals spending tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan annually, who care more about craftsmanship and timeless design than price.

Still facing multiple core challenges?

Since late 2024, Old Shop Gold, which has been pioneering a high-end approach aligned with luxury brands, has continued to attract attention. While competitors are closing stores and experiencing declining performance, Old Shop Gold has defied the trend and grown.

In the first half of 2025, Old Shop Gold’s revenue increased by 251% year-on-year to 12.354 billion yuan; net profit rose 285.8% to 2.268 billion yuan. It even attracted Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH, to visit its stores, indicating that domestic gold brands are gaining recognition in the international luxury industry.

Zhou Ting believes that Old Shop Gold’s “regular price hikes” are learning from international luxury brands, but there are clear differences. “Old Shop Gold’s brand strength and premium capacity are still not on par with Hermès or Cartier, nor does it have the resilience of luxury brands during economic cycles. While its brand value is stronger than other Chinese gold jewelry brands, it still heavily relies on gold and rising gold prices, without fully breaking free from the limitations of gold material.”

“Reducing the emphasis on gold attributes or a significant drop in gold prices will impact Old Shop Gold’s prices and sales,” Zhou Ting pointed out. “Its so-called high-end and scarcity are not entirely sustainable.”

Industry insiders see Old Shop Gold’s rise as a sign of China’s high-end brand “pricing power awakening.” Chen Dong believes that the recent “regular price increases” demonstrate that Old Shop Gold has gained real pricing power, which is not just about adjusting prices but about controlling brand positioning through pricing leverage. This makes Old Shop Gold the only high-end brand in traditional gold, even putting international brands like Bvlgari and Van Cleef & Arpels under pressure. It also indicates that China’s high-end brand influence is growing.

Zhou Ting states that Old Shop Gold’s rise reflects a rational upgrade in Chinese consumers’ consumption concepts. “Consumers are less willing to pay premiums for international luxury brands and are more focused on the intrinsic value of products. The success of Old Shop Gold aligns with this trend.”

Although Old Shop Gold has become a model for domestic high-end jewelry brands, to truly establish itself in the global luxury market, it still faces multiple key challenges. Zhou Ting emphasizes that the primary challenge is building professional brand management capabilities. Domestic brands need to learn from international luxury brands to develop high-premium brands, not just rely on the material value of gold.

“Currently, Chinese gold jewelry brands, including Old Shop Gold, have lower brand strength and premium capacity than international luxury brands,” Zhou Ting further told the Daily Economic News. “Old Shop Gold needs to enhance its creativity and aesthetic standards. The core of traditional craftsmanship is skill inheritance, but most domestic products are more craftworks than art pieces. Only by integrating traditional craftsmanship with international aesthetics can they achieve high-end breakthroughs. Additionally, Chinese gold jewelry brands face significant talent shortages. To compete internationally, they need to attract professional luxury management talents and build a strong team to develop the brand.”