SHANGHAI — Shanghai-based skincare group Chicmax Cosmetic Company Ltd. — known for its popular skincare brands Kans, One Leaf, Baby Elephant, Bio-G and Hanamino — went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday, becoming the primary Mainland China skincare company to accomplish that.

Chicmax opened at 25.20 Hong Kong Dollars, or $3.23, on Thursday, raising 835 million Hong Kong dollar from the deal.

Founded in 2002 by Shanghai-based entrepreneur Yixiong Lv, Chicmax is widely known for its anti-aging brand Kans, the botanically inspired facial mask brand One Leaf and the Baby Elephant skincare brand for moms and youngsters.

In keeping with data from the consulting agency Frost & Sullivan, in 2021, Chicmax Cosmetics ranked 14th place in retail sales in China, accounting for a market share of 0.8 percent. In comparison with domestic players, Chicmax Cosmetics ranked after Proya, Jahwa, Yatsen because the fourth-largest within the domestic market.

As its hero product, Chicmax’s facial mask topped the rating of the category in China with retail sales of 1.84 billion renminbi, or $263 million, in 2021.

Chicmax also ranked first within the domestic maternity and childcare skincare category, with retail sales of 1.79 billion renminbi, or $256 million, in 2021, in line with Frost & Sullivan.

Chicmax initially planned for an inventory on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2021 but shifted its focus to the Hong Kong exhange later within the 12 months.

In keeping with Chicmax Cosmetics’ prospectus, resulting from COVID-19-related disruptions, revenue dropped 31 percent year-over-year to 1.26 billion renminbi, or $180 million, within the six months ending June 30, 2022. Gross profit plunged almost 33 percent year-over-year to 0.8 billion renminbi, or $114 million, in the identical period.

In recent times, Chicmax has been reinventing its star brands to maintain up with market trends and stay in a highly fragmented market dominated by global players, in line with Frost & Sullivan’s report.

For instance, Kans edged into the high-end anti-aging market with a self-developed blue copper peptide technology and One Leaf was rebranded right into a clean beauty brand.

In 2016, Chicmax arrange a research facility in Kobe, Japan and has spent almost 100 million renminbi annually on research and development. Latest brands that made their debut this 12 months, corresponding to Latest Page and Armiyo, are aimed toward tackling the sensitive skin market sector. In 2023, a high-end anti-aging brand, Yamii Pro, will make its market debut.