- Li Hanqiong, 49, poised to inherit control of Ningbo-based retail and apparel powerhouse
- Leadership transition comes amid restructuring and acquisition to offset real estate blow
The founder of Chinese apparel conglomerate Youngor (雅戈尔) is preparing to hand over control of the company to his daughter, marking one of the latest generational transitions among Zhejiang’s private-sector business empires.
Youngor said in a series of board resolutions released alongside its 2025 annual report that Vice Chairman and President Li Hanqiong, 49, had been nominated for the next board of directors, while Chairman and controlling shareholder Li Rucheng was absent from the candidate list.
The move signals that Li Rucheng, 75, who founded the Ningbo-based menswear company in 1979, is stepping back from day-to-day control after more than four decades.
“As the old gives way to the new, the next generation will take charge of Youngor’s operations through this board transition,” Li Rucheng wrote in a letter to shareholders accompanying the annual report.
Succession has become an increasingly sensitive issue among China’s family-controlled private companies, particularly in Zhejiang, where disputes over inheritance and corporate control have triggered high-profile conflicts.
Those include the prolonged battle over control of beverage giant Wahaha Group following the death of founder Zong Qinghou, as well as the succession dispute at fashion conglomerate Shanshan Group after founder Zheng Yonggang died unexpectedly.
Born in 1977, Li Hanqiong studied business administration at California State University before earning an EMBA from China Europe International Business School. After returning to China, she worked her way up through the company rather than immediately entering senior management.
Groomed to take over, from the ground up
She became a director in 2011, was appointed general manager in 2016 and has served as vice chairman and president since 2023.
In recent years, Li Hanqiong has led an aggressive acquisition strategy as Youngor pivots back toward fashion and retail after reducing its footprint in the struggling real estate market.
In December 2024, she represented Youngor Group in a consortium deal with the management of Intime (银泰百货), also a Zhejiang retail conglomerate, to acquire Intime Department Store from Alibaba Group for about 7.4 billion yuan ($1.09 billion).
The company has also expanded its physical retail footprint, purchasing several large storefront properties from Wenzhou-based apparel retailer Metersbonwe (美特斯邦威) in 2023 for about 1.34 billion yuan.
In January, Youngor completed the acquisition of French luxury childrenswear brand Bonpoint in a deal reportedly worth about 200 million euros ($235 million).
Youngor also partnered in 2022 with Challenger Capital, founded by Genki Forest founder Tang Binsen, to invest in fashion brands including Alexander Wang.
Narrowing the focus
Once known for combining apparel, real estate and investment operations into what some investors called “the Berkshire Hathaway of clothing,” Youngor has recently narrowed its focus.
The company announced its withdrawal from the property business in 2024 after more than 30 years in the sector.
Revenue fell 18.4% to 11.58 billion yuan in 2025, with net profit attributable to shareholders dropping 11.6% to 2.45 billion yuan, according to the annual earnings report.
The figures also highlighted Youngor’s growing reliance on investments during the transition. Investment operations contributed 2.47 billion yuan in profit last year, slightly exceeding the company’s total net profit.
The oversized share of investments in Youngor’s earnings has sparked speculation about whether the company will continue its buying spree going forward, industry observers said.
According to the 2026 Hurun Global Rich List, founder Li Rucheng and his daughter Li Hanqiong had a combined wealth of about 14.5 billion yuan ($2.13 billion).
