At the headquarters of Guangdong Mona Lisa Group Co., Ltd., hereinafter referred to as "Mona Lisa"), a busy scene is played out every day. The 74-year-old Xiao Hua, the chairman of the Mona Lisa, is still running for the company's future. Despite his advanced age, he has shown no intention of retiring and is still pursuing his business ideals and ambitions.
Xiao Hua's business career has been varied. He was born into a poor family and dropped out of school at the age of 15 to ease the burden on his family. At the age of 21, he entered a hardware factory and gradually grew from an ordinary worker to an entrepreneur. His first venture was related to hardware, and this experience laid a solid foundation for his later business career.
In 1990, Xiao Hua started his ceramic business journey as the director of Li Chong Ceramic Equipment Factory in Lanshi Town, Foshan City. He has a unique business vision and sees the scarcity of brands in the high-end market. So, in 1998, he joined the Nanhai Qiaodong high-grade wall and floor tile factory and began his journey of building the high-end ceramic brand "Mona Lisa".
After several changes in the company's name, in 2015, the company changed its name to Mona Lisa Group Co., Ltd.***, a name change that reflects Xiao Hua's thoughtful branding and market positioning. Under his leadership, the Mona Lisa Group grew and eventually went public on the Shenzhen ** Stock Exchange in 2017.
However, the Mona Lisa Group has not been smooth sailing since its listing. In 2021, the company faced the cost pressure brought by raw materials** and the provision of bad debts caused by the weakness of the real estate market, resulting in a sharp decline in net profit for the year. Despite this, Xiao Hua still led the company through the difficulties, and showed a quarter-on-quarter improvement in gross profit margin in the third quarter of 2023.
Xiao Hua's leadership and forward-thinking strategy are one of the key factors in the success of the Mona Lisa. His tenacity and hard work not only shaped the Mona Lisa's unique brand identity, but also led the company through difficult times. Xiao Hua's story is a typical Chinese entrepreneurial spirit – constant effort, hard work, and the pursuit of success.
However, as he grew older, Xiao Hua also began to think about how to pass on his career. Although no specific plans have been disclosed, it is certain that under his leadership, Mona Lisa has established a well-established leadership and operation mechanism that will allow the company to remain strong and have strong competitiveness and development potential in the future.