Core Insights - The company Lin Qingxuan, despite a high gross margin of 82.5% on its Camellia oil priced at 749 yuan, faces serious issues including false advertising, hollow R&D, and a halved valuation [2][3] - Regulatory scrutiny has intensified, with the Beijing Chaoyang District Market Supervision Bureau imposing fines for misleading claims about product efficacy [2][8] - The company is under pressure to go public due to multiple agreements with investors, leading to significant share sell-offs by founders and early investors [3][6][7] Group 1: Financial Performance and Valuation - Lin Qingxuan's valuation peaked at 3.175 billion yuan during its B round financing in 2021 but plummeted to 1.559 billion yuan by August 2024 [4][6] - The company has seen significant cash-outs by its founder and early investors, totaling 226 million yuan from August 2024 to May 2025 [3][6] - The financial data reveals a troubling reliance on a few core products, with nearly 40% of revenue coming from a single item [3][15] Group 2: Marketing vs. R&D - The marketing expenditure for 2024 was 365 million yuan, while R&D investment was only 30.4 million yuan, indicating a 12-fold disparity [10][11] - Over the years, the company has spent 760 million yuan on marketing but only 71.2 million yuan on R&D, which is less than 3% of total revenue [10][11] - The workforce is heavily skewed towards sales and marketing, with 85.2% of employees in these roles and only 64 in R&D [11] Group 3: Product Dependency and Market Challenges - The Camellia oil product accounted for 37% of total revenue in 2024, highlighting a lack of diversification in the product lineup [15] - The company has struggled to establish a foothold in lower-tier markets, with sales in these areas only reaching 60% of those in first-tier cities [15] - The franchise model has faced setbacks, with the number of franchise stores decreasing from 35 to 32, and average revenue per store significantly lower than that of direct-operated stores [15] Group 4: Regulatory and Market Pressures - The company has a history of regulatory violations, including a recent fine for false advertising regarding its anti-aging claims [8][9] - The upcoming deadline for a public listing in December 2026 poses a significant risk, as failure to meet this could result in substantial financial liabilities for the founder [19][20] - New regulations on cosmetic efficacy claims are tightening, which could further impact the company's marketing strategies [19][20]