Gome is undergoing another transformation, and former richest man Huang Guangyu "refuses to accept his fate".
After attempting live - streaming e - commerce, entering the instant retail market, and venturing into the automobile sales market, Huang Guangyu, the former richest man, has added a new chapter to his business transformation journey. This time, he has set his sights on the emerging hydrogen energy track.
According to Radar Finance, on September 10th, a company named Beijing Gome Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Gome Hydrogen Energy") was officially established. Tianyancha shows that the company's registered capital is 10 million yuan, and its actual controller is Huang Guangyu, who was once a prominent figure in the business world.
Just two days after the establishment of Gome Hydrogen Energy, Huang Guangyu attended the "Hydrogen Energy Green Transportation Ecological Construction Conference" as the chairman of Gome Hydrogen Energy and delivered a speech.
Three days later, Gome Hydrogen Energy made another move: it held a signing ceremony for a strategic cooperation agreement with Guohydrogen Technology, a company controlled by the State Power Investment Corporation, in Beijing.
From the company's establishment to quickly reaching a strategic cooperation, the speed of this cross - border layout is astonishing, which makes people wonder: Why is Huang Guangyu so "eager" to plunge into the hydrogen energy field?
Looking back at 2021, Huang Guangyu, who had just regained his freedom, was full of ambition. He boldly declared the slogan of "striving to restore the company's original market position in the next 18 months".
However, four years have passed in a flash. The once - giant in home appliance retail still faces severe operational challenges. While Gome Retail's performance is under pressure, it has also been "cold - shouldered" in the capital market. As of the close on September 19th, the company's market value has fallen below HK$1 billion, a significant shrinkage compared to its peak.
Just when everyone thought Gome would sink deeper and deeper into the quagmire of traditional retail, Huang Guangyu has now made this unexpected decision - to cross over into the hydrogen energy field.
However, the prospects of the hydrogen energy track are fraught with many complex and unpredictable uncertainties. For Gome, whether it can regain its former glory through this cross - border layout is a long and arduous journey full of thorns.
Huang Guangyu Transforms Again, and Gome Hydrogen Energy's "Flash Marriage"
Tianyancha shows that Gome Hydrogen Energy, established on September 10th, is a company mainly engaged in science and technology promotion and application services. Although the company's registered capital is only 10 million yuan, its equity structure and business scope are sufficient to show Huang Guangyu's "ambition" for the hydrogen energy business.
The equity structure shows that the company is 80% owned by Beijing Pengrun Investment Co., Ltd., which is controlled by Huang Guangyu. Huang Guangyu directly holds 82.59% of the shares in Beijing Pengrun Investment Co., Ltd.
The business scope of Gome Hydrogen Energy includes research and development of new energy technologies; energy storage technology services; sales of new membrane materials; sales of synthetic materials; sales of batteries; sales of generators and generator sets; sales of battery accessories; sales of hydrogen refueling and hydrogen storage facilities for stations; sales of gas and liquid separation and purification equipment; sales of intelligent basic manufacturing equipment, etc.
Judging from the above information, Gome Hydrogen Energy has a very wide business scope, covering multiple core links of the hydrogen energy industry chain, such as "hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, fuel cells and key materials, vehicle manufacturing and operation", and is positioned as an equipment, materials and technology service provider.
Meanwhile, Gome Hydrogen Energy's business has also expanded to the research and development of Internet of Things technology and the manufacturing of photovoltaic equipment and components, achieving full - coverage of hydrogen energy production, storage, transportation, application and supporting services.
It is worth mentioning that shortly after the establishment of Gome Hydrogen Energy, Huang Guangyu wasted no time in taking a series of actions. On September 12th, at the "Hydrogen Energy Green Transportation Ecological Construction Conference", Huang Guangyu made his first public appearance and delivered a speech as the chairman of Gome Hydrogen Energy.
Huang Guangyu said that Gome's layout in hydrogen energy is a well - thought - out strategic choice. On the one hand, as a clean and efficient new energy, hydrogen energy conforms to the strategic direction of the country's "dual - carbon" goal and has broad development prospects.
On the other hand, Gome's rich resources and channel advantages accumulated in the retail field are expected to provide strong support for the promotion and application of the hydrogen energy business.
Just three days later, Gome Hydrogen Energy made another move. On September 15th, Gome Hydrogen Energy and Guohydrogen Technology, controlled by the State Power Investment Corporation, held a signing ceremony for a strategic cooperation agreement in Beijing. The progress of this cross - border layout has been "astonishingly fast". It only took a short five days from the company's establishment to the strategic signing.
From the Peak of the Richest Man to the Darkest Valley, Huang Guangyu Has Experienced Business Ups and Downs
Behind Huang Guangyu's "eagerness" to promote the cooperation of Gome Hydrogen Energy may be related to the current difficulties faced by Gome. Looking back, Huang Guangyu, who stands behind Gome, has had a bumpy entrepreneurial journey.
Going back to 1969, Huang Guangyu was born into a poor peasant family in Chaoshan, Guangdong. In his early years, due to the family's poverty, he and his elder brother Huang Junqin even picked up waste to supplement the family income.
In 1987, Huang Guangyu opened a small store of less than 100 square meters in Zhushikou, Beijing, specializing in home appliances. This was the first Gome store. With the business strategy of "small profit but quick turnover", Gome quickly stood out in the market.
In 1990, Huang Guangyu began to contact manufacturers directly, bypassing middlemen, and created a new supply and marketing model in the home appliance circulation industry - the exclusive sales system.
By 1993, Huang Guangyu already owned seven or eight stores such as Gome, Guohao, and Yahua. For easier management, he unified these stores as "Gome Electrical Appliances", forming the prototype of the chain - operation model.
However, due to different business concepts, Huang Guangyu and his brother later decided to "separate". Huang Guangyu got the brand "Gome". Since then, Gome has entered a period of rapid development in the "Huang Guangyu era".
In 2004, Gome Electrical Appliances was successfully listed in Hong Kong. In 2004, 2005, and 2008, Huang Guangyu won the title of the richest man on the Hurun Rich List three times, enjoying great glory at that time.
However, Huang Guangyu's legendary life took a turn in 2008. In November of that year, Huang Guangyu was taken away by the Beijing Public Security Bureau for investigation. In January 2009, Huang Guangyu resigned from his position as a director of Gome Electrical Appliances, and his identity as the chairman of Gome automatically ended at the same time.
In August 2010, Huang Guangyu was sentenced to 14 years in prison for illegal business operations, insider trading, and unit bribery. He was also fined 600 million yuan and had 200 million yuan in assets confiscated.
Meanwhile, with the advent of the Internet era, the traditional home appliance retail industry has been severely impacted. E - commerce platforms represented by JD.com and Taobao have risen rapidly. They have attracted a large number of consumers with their convenient shopping experience, rich product variety, and preferential prices.
Under the fierce attack of many e - commerce players, Gome's traditional offline store model gradually lost its advantage, and its performance began to decline.
According to data from Flush iFinD, since 2017, Gome Retail's net profit attributable to shareholders has been in continuous losses for eight years.
In 2024, Gome Retail's revenue decreased by 26.76% year - on - year to 474 million yuan, a shrinkage of more than 99% compared to the peak of 76.695 billion yuan in 2016, not even a fraction of the amount at that time; the annual net profit attributable to shareholders recorded a loss of 11.629 billion yuan, with the loss scale expanding by 15.63% year - on - year.
In the first half of this year, Gome Retail's revenue increased by 75.35% year - on - year to 297 million yuan, but the company was still deeply mired in losses, recording a net profit attributable to shareholders of - 1.346 billion yuan.
As of the end of the first half of the year, Gome Retail's total liabilities reached 42.201 billion yuan, including short - term borrowings of 23.358 billion yuan; the asset - liability ratio soared further to 209.23%.
In addition, according to the National Enterprise Bankruptcy and Reorganization Case Information Network and announcements from local courts, many companies in the Gome system have been ruled by the court to enter the bankruptcy liquidation process.
According to Tianyancha information, many companies in the Gome system have been listed as dishonest debtors by the court. As of the time of publication, only Gome Electrical Appliances Co., Ltd. currently has 118 pieces of information as a dishonest debtor, with a total involved amount of up to 2.027 billion yuan.
In order to get out of the predicament, Gome has actually tried various transformation measures, but has not achieved obvious results.
For example, in 2023, Gome entered platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou to start live - streaming e - commerce, but failed to open up sales channels; in 2024, Gome launched the "instant warehouse" and convenience store business, but it was difficult to expand due to lack of funds; at the end of the same year, Gome announced its entry into the new energy vehicle sales field, which also faced many doubts in the industry.
Now, against the background of multiple unsuccessful transformation attempts, Huang Guangyu has chosen to cross over and increase investment in the hydrogen energy track. This move is regarded by the outside world as another new way for Gome to save itself.
Betting on the Hydrogen Energy Track, Gome's Future Remains Uncertain
Public information shows that Guohydrogen Technology, which quickly reached a strategic cooperation with Gome Hydrogen Energy just five days after its establishment, is the first hydrogen - energy - specialized subsidiary among domestic energy central enterprises.
Since its establishment in May 2017, Guohydrogen Technology has made significant breakthroughs in fuel cell technology, the core of hydrogen - powered vehicles, and independently mastered a number of key product - level core technologies and engineering production processes.
According to the strategic cooperation agreement signed by the two parties, they will jointly focus on the vision of green and innovative development and the integration of multiple industries and energy sources, and cooperate in areas such as the construction of hydrogen energy application scenarios, the large - scale operation of hydrogen - powered vehicles, and the promotion of hydrogen energy equipment.
This cooperation will give full play to Guohydrogen Technology's advantages in hydrogen energy technology research and development, equipment manufacturing, and ecological collaboration, as well as Gome Hydrogen Energy's strengths in capital operation, channel network, and asset operation.
Through resource integration, model innovation, and equity collaboration, the two parties will promote the large - scale implementation of hydrogen - powered vehicles and the precise matching of hydrogen refueling stations during the 15th Five - Year Plan period, build a green hydrogen energy industrial ecosystem, and contribute to the high - quality development of the hydrogen energy industry.
However, Gome's move to cross over into the hydrogen energy track still faces considerable challenges. Since the hydrogen energy industry is currently in its early stage of development, the market scale is small, and the business model is not yet mature. There are many skeptical voices in the market about whether the cooperation between the two parties can achieve significant economic benefits in the short term.
Some professionals point out that the hydrogen energy industry is a technology - intensive and capital - intensive industry. It requires a large amount of capital investment and long - term technology accumulation from research and development to industrialization.
Currently, Gome itself is facing severe financial difficulties. Whether it has sufficient funds and technical strength to continuously support the development of the hydrogen energy business remains unknown.
According to China Petrochemical News, the hydrogen energy industry has the characteristics of a long industrial chain, a wide range of involved fields, and high professionalism. Currently, there are more than 3,000 hydrogen - related enterprises in China. Many enterprises have carried out layouts in the entire hydrogen energy industrial chain, such as hydrogen production, storage, transportation, and utilization. As the scale continues to expand, the problem of insufficient industrial chain collaboration has become increasingly prominent.
For example, in the upstream hydrogen production link, the synergy between water electrolysis hydrogen production and renewable energy power generation is poor. Water electrolysis hydrogen production requires a large amount of stable and low - cost electricity, while renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power generation are intermittent and unstable. The connection between the two is not yet perfect.
At the same time, currently, the main sources of low - cost green hydrogen are in the northwest region, while some key hydrogen consumption areas are in the southeast region. The large - scale, low - cost hydrogen pipeline transportation technology is still in the demonstration stage.
Moreover, the hydrogen energy industry is still in its growth stage and requires policy support for sustainable development. Although the state and the government have issued hundreds of support policies, there is still a gap between the implementation effect and market demand.
As a low - carbon energy source, the carbon trading market currently lacks a clear recognition of the emission reduction value of hydrogen energy, resulting in hydrogen energy enterprises not being able to obtain benefits in the carbon trading market. There are many market access restrictions in the hydrogen energy industry, and the approval process for hydrogen refueling station construction is complex.
In addition, Gome itself has relatively weak technology reserves and talent accumulation in the hydrogen energy field. How to quickly improve its technical strength and innovation ability is also a major problem facing Gome.
Can Huang Guangyu, who is transforming again, gain a foothold in the hydrogen energy track through the cooperation between Gome Hydrogen Energy and Guohydrogen Technology and then achieve a "rebirth" with the hydrogen energy business? Radar Finance will continue to pay attention.
This article is from the WeChat public account "Radar Finance". Author: Peng Cheng, Editor: Meng Shuai. Republished by 36Kr with permission.