Proya acquires Flormar, but the "Anta" in the beauty industry has not emerged yet.

Author | Ren Cairu

Editor | Qiao Qian

A new beauty brand full of "girlish heart" and "fairy - tale feeling" has found its phased destination.

On the evening of May 21st, Proya announced that its wholly - owned subsidiary, Proya (Hainan), plans to acquire a 12.5479% stake in Shenzhen Huazhixiao E - commerce Co., Ltd. for 351 million yuan in cash. After the transaction is completed, Proya's shareholding ratio in Huazhixiao will increase from 38.4521% to 51%. Financially, Huazhixiao will also be officially included in Proya's consolidated financial statements.

Proya's announcement regarding the acquisition of a partial stake in Huazhixiao

Proya is promoting its "A + H" listing. Controlling Huazhixiao at this time is, in a sense, telling a new story to the capital market. "Huazhixiao's profit margin is around 20%. It's so amazing," an investor in the primary market told 36Kr.

In this transaction, Huazhixiao is valued at 2.827 billion yuan. Considering its net profit of 280 million yuan in 2025, the P/E ratio is about 10 times, which is a reasonable price in the current capital market environment.

Proya's favor for Huazhixiao is not sudden.

Earlier, Proya completed a Series B strategic investment in Huazhixiao in September 2025. At that time, Proya spent 428 million yuan to buy a 38.45% stake in Huazhixiao - the latter's current valuation has more than tripled compared to last year. Huazhixiao is indeed a "high - quality asset" in rapid growth. In the first quarter of this year, its operating income and net profit have reached 40% and 55% of last year's full - year figures respectively.

Proya already has Caitang. Caitang is positioned as a professional, Chinese - aesthetic, base - makeup and pre - makeup brand, more like a functional makeup brand with the aesthetic endorsement of professional makeup artists; while Huazhixiao is more inclined to the girlish, dreamy, visual and emotional consumption. Both belong to the makeup category, but their brand temperaments, target audiences and consumption scenarios do not completely overlap.

As a new - generation leading enterprise in the Chinese beauty industry, Proya's transaction also hits the common anxiety point of large companies in the industry: When the growth of the main brand slows down, where does the second growth curve come from? "Companies like Shangmei, Betaine, Shuiyang and Yixian E - commerce are all taking similar actions," the aforementioned investor told 36Kr.

From the development path, beauty groups seem to be more and more like Anta in the clothing industry. Every company hopes to transform from a single - brand company into a real consumer goods group through mergers, acquisitions and brand matrix layout, and finally move to the center of the global stage. But so far, there has not been a real "Anta" in the Chinese beauty industry.

01 A "Good Target" That Has Found Its Destination

In the primary market of daily - use cosmetics and beauty products, Huazhixiao is generally recognized as a good target - it has brand recognition and growth achievements verified by the market.

Huazhixiao was founded in 2016 and is positioned as a "girlish makeup" brand. Features such as high - value, richness, complex beauty, romance and extremely fast new product launches constitute the unique position of this brand. At a 36Kr forum in 2021, "Baozi", the co - founder of Huazhixiao, said that the makeup industry has changed from a blue ocean to a red ocean very quickly, and it is difficult to build brand barriers. "For us, the thing we are best at is to output our aesthetics."

Huazhixiao's "Strawberry Cupid Sweetheart Gift Box"

Looking at Huazhixiao's development history in the context of China's new - consumption investment and financing cycle, it is a relatively lucky example. Public information shows that Huazhixiao received a ten - million - level RMB Pre - A round of financing from Tiantu Investment in 2020 and a nearly 100 - million - yuan Series A round of financing from Kunyan Capital in March 2021. Thereafter, in the context of the ebb of new - consumption investment and the decline of beauty brand valuations, Huazhixiao did not take the dangerous path of radical expansion but continued to strengthen its supply chain, brand content and overseas market. Until September 2025, Proya's investment gear started to turn.

Also hidden in this timeline is the change in the capital market from boom to bust and then back to common sense. According to 36Kr, after the Series A financing in 2021, Huazhixiao's valuation had exceeded 1 billion yuan. Four years later, when Proya made a Series B investment in it in September 2025, the valuation was only 1.113 billion yuan. For many investors and brands in the game, the past few years have seen their own choices and results.

At least from the results, Huazhixiao has "survived" the cycle. According to the data disclosed by Proya in the announcement, Huazhixiao achieved an operating income of 1.726 billion yuan and a net profit of about 280 million yuan in 2025; in the first quarter of 2026, it achieved an operating income of 675 million yuan and a net profit of 155 million yuan.

Data related to "Huazhixiao" disclosed by Proya in the announcement

Looking at this report card in the overall context of Proya, Huazhixiao's revenue scale in the first quarter of 2026 accounted for 29.28% of the Proya Group, nearly 30%; and its net profit reached 42.15% of the group's net profit in the same period. According to the full - year performance in 2025, Huazhixiao is already the second - largest brand in the Proya system, with a revenue scale higher than that of sub - brands such as Caitang and Off&Relax.

In addition to its revenue scale and profit - making ability, Huazhixiao is also one of the few domestic beauty start - up companies in the past few years with distinct brand recognition. With this recognition, it has, to some extent, become an overseas brand with initial achievements and has performed well in globalization.

In the past year, Huazhixiao (Flower Knows) has significantly accelerated its actions in the overseas market. The latest landmark event is that Huazhixiao landed at the American beauty retailer Ulta Beauty in December 2025. The first batch of 62 SKUs were launched, covering categories such as eyeshadows, blushes, lip products, mirrors and accessories, with a price range of about 8 to 45 US dollars. Previously, Huazhixiao had reached young American consumers through channels such as Urban Outfitters, Amazon and TikTok Shop.

Different from brands that enter the market with efficacy, ingredients or cost - effectiveness, Huazhixiao is closer to a "content - based makeup brand". Thematic packaging such as Strawberry Rococo, Swan, Angel and Fairy Tale is naturally suitable for dissemination on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, and has also helped it build highly visual brand assets.

According to Beauty Independent, the United States contributes 60% to 70% of Huazhixiao's overseas business; however, overseas business still accounts for a relatively small proportion of the overall revenue, and the Chinese market still contributes about 90% of the total revenue.

For Huazhixiao, being controlled by industrial capital is a decent exit path. In the past few years, a number of new - consumption brands have had "grand dreams". But today, with the disappearance of the traffic dividend and the twists and turns of the IPO window, and even if they go public, the valuations often fail to meet expectations. "Most consumer goods brands are difficult to grow into large companies, and being acquired by leading industrial groups has instead become a more feasible destination," the aforementioned FA said.

After the completion of this transaction, Huazhixiao may start a new story of "from 10 to 100". In addition to its past strengths in aesthetics, content and channel sensitivity, whether it can smoothly integrate with Proya's supply chain, as well as its organizational system and channel system as a large company, will be new variables.

02 In the Merger and Acquisition Narrative of Chinese Beauty Groups, There Is a Lack of an "Anta" Sample

Proya's need for Huazhixiao is also related to its own growth pressure.

Judging from the financial data, Proya is still a high - quality domestic beauty company in China. In 2025, Proya achieved an operating income of 10.597 billion yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 1.68%; the net profit attributable to the parent company was 1.498 billion yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 3.50%, clearly shifting from "high - speed growth" to an "adjustment period".

More importantly, the growth of Proya's main brand has slowed down.

In 2025, the revenue of Proya's main brand was 7.689 billion yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 10.39%, but it still accounted for 72.64% of the company's revenue. Although brands such as Caitang, OR (Off&Relax), Yuansebpota and Jingshi are still in the growth channel, their scale is not enough to offset the decline of the main brand. In the first quarter of 2026, the Proya Group achieved a revenue of 2.305 billion yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 2.29%; the net profit attributable to the parent company was 367 million yuan, a year - on - year decrease of 6.05%.

This means that for Proya to maintain the growth narrative of being the "Number One Domestic Beauty Brand", the main brand can no longer be the only driving force. It must seek faster and more certain external increments. An investor in the consumer primary market told 36Kr that around the second half of 2024, Proya's investment department began to intensively search the market for new - generation brands with high customer orders or achievements in going overseas, seeking investment, mergers and acquisitions.

However, mergers and acquisitions can bring scale, but they do not necessarily build an empire.

Anta in the clothing industry is often used as a sample for the group - based development of Chinese consumer goods companies. From the Anta main brand to FILA, and then to assets such as Descente, Kolon and Amer Sports, Anta has gradually established a group - based ability with multiple brands, multiple price ranges and multiple scenarios through mergers and acquisitions in the past nearly 20 years. Its re - positioning, re - operation and re - growth after mergers and acquisitions have made countless large companies and capital parties "envious".

Now, Chinese beauty companies are also telling similar stories - Shangmei Co., Ltd., Shuiyang Co., Ltd., Betaine, Yixian E - commerce, etc. Each beauty company has cases of investing in or acquiring new - generation brands - but few have truly succeeded.

Take Shangmei Co., Ltd. as an example. In 2025, Shangmei's revenue and net profit both achieved double - digit growth, and the data is extremely eye - catching among domestic beauty leading companies. But looking at the brands separately, Hanshu is still the dominant one. In 2025, its revenue accounted for 80% of Shangmei Group's revenue. Although the second - growth - curve brand newpage has a growth rate of over 100%, its proportion is less than 10%.

Yixian E - commerce, the parent company of Perfect Diary, is another complex example. After going public, Yixian E - commerce acquired brands such as Xiaoaoting, the French skincare brand Galenic, the British skincare brand EVE LOM and the doctor - specialized skincare brand DR.WU, trying to transform into a multi - brand beauty group with both makeup and skincare.

Judging from the results, it is a mixed bag. In 2025, the revenue of Yixian E - commerce's skincare brands increased by 63.5% year - on - year, reaching 2.28 billion yuan, accounting for 53% of the total revenue; the revenue of makeup brands led by Perfect Diary only increased by 1.9%. It seems that skincare as the "second growth curve" is taking effect, but the company still had a loss of 92.4 million yuan in 2025. Whether the new brands can contribute to "operational quality" is still a question.

The essence of the Anta narrative lies in how to "nurture" the brand after the acquisition. Whenever Anta completes a brand acquisition, its actions usually show strong determination, resolve and a unique methodology. Closing stores resolutely, making great efforts to open large - scale stores and deepening the brand story are all part of the process.

Beauty mergers and acquisitions are more complex than clothing mergers and acquisitions. The assets of clothing brands are often concentrated in channels, categories, design systems and brand positioning. However, a makeup brand may become popular overnight with a series of products, or it may quickly lose popularity due to aesthetic fatigue; a skincare brand may achieve growth with a certain ingredient concept, or it may quickly fall into homogeneous competition.

"Anta is already a very professional international group, and domestic beauty companies have not reached such a scale and ability," the aforementioned investor told 36Kr. "The most important variable in shaping a brand is time, and patience is also extremely important." Proya's acquisition of Huazhixiao is a good deal, but whether it will ultimately be the start of a great story is a test for both the buyer and the seller.