---
title: "From 3,000 Yuan to a Fortune of 13 Billion: Why Does Chen Kaixuan's Liby Group Insist on Not Going Public?"
description: "Liby Group founder Chen Kaixuan, who started with 3,000 yuan, has built a fortune of 13 billion yuan. Despite the company's success, he has consistently refused to take it public, a stance shared by other private enterprises like Huawei and Wahaha. This article explores the reasons behind this decision, including the company's strong brand recognition, sufficient cash flow, and the founder's cautious approach to capital markets."
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# From 3,000 Yuan to a Fortune of 13 Billion: Why Does Chen Kaixuan's Liby Group Insist on Not Going Public?

> Liby Group founder Chen Kaixuan, who started with 3,000 yuan, has built a fortune of 13 billion yuan. Despite the company's success, he has consistently refused to take it public, a stance shared by other private enterprises like Huawei and Wahaha. This article explores the reasons behind this decision, including the company's strong brand recognition, sufficient cash flow, and the founder's cautious approach to capital markets.

Reposted from WeChat official account: Yibo Shuo (ID: yangyibotcc)
Please contact Yibo Shuo for authorization to repost.

Wahaha's Zong Qinghou once said that using capital's money made him uneasy. Fotile's founder Mao Zhongqun has also adhered to the "three no's principle": no listing, no price wars, no deception. Nowadays, well-known private enterprises that insist on not going public have become rare, such as Huawei, Laoganma, Wahaha, Fotile, and Liby.

Previously, Liby Group's vice president Xu Xiaodong explained Liby's decision not to go public: "The purpose of listing is nothing more than two: one is to increase brand awareness and expand publicity; the other is to raise funds when short of money. For Liby, neither is needed at the moment. Liby is already a household name, and our cash flow is sufficient; we are not short of money." Is this the real reason Liby hasn't gone public?

Founders of Liby: Two Brothers
△ Chen Kaixuan, Chairman of Liby Group

When it comes to Liby, it's a household name; but when it comes to Chen Kaixuan, this daily chemical tycoon, many may not know him well. Liby Company was founded in 1994, with six founding partners, the main soul figures being Chen Kaixuan and his elder brother Chen Kaichen. Liby is a successful case of brothers joining hands to start a business.

Chen Kaixuan, born in 1958, hails from Liusha Town, Puning, Guangdong, a region in the Chaoshan area known for its strong commercial atmosphere and for producing many wealthy individuals. Puning has not only produced many renowned industrial and commercial magnates at home and abroad, but also many family businesses that have thrived for three generations or more. For example, we have introduced the Lo Ying-shek and Lo Ka-shui family from Hong Kong, the Huang Ziming family from Thailand, and the Chen brothers' family from France, founders of Tang Frères, all of whom are models of succession.

In the domestic industrial and commercial circles, there are also many well-known entrepreneurs from Puning, such as Yang Rongming, chairman of Eagle Coin Group, Pearl River Beer Group, and Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings; Ma Xingtian of Kangmei Pharmaceutical; and the Chen brothers of Liby Group. It is worth mentioning that Puning also produced a prominent figure in the economic world—the famous red financier Zhuang Shiping, for whom Li Ka-shing personally helped carry the coffin at his funeral.

Compared with many business tycoons, Chen Kaixuan's rise was purely "from scratch," starting as a migrant worker. During the Cultural Revolution, Chen Kaixuan didn't have much education. In 1975, after graduating from high school at the age of 18, he went to Guangzhou, the provincial capital, with 25 yuan saved from selling eggs, and did odd jobs for a few years. He worked as a bricklayer at a chemical research institute, demolished old buildings along the riverside road, and carried stones at Huangpu Port.

At age 20, Chen Kaixuan returned to his hometown of Liusha, Puning. When idle, he often wandered the streets. One day, he noticed a long queue at a grocery store. Out of curiosity, he approached and saw that people were buying laundry detergent. In the past, neighbors used soap for washing clothes. After further investigation, he learned that laundry detergent not only cleaned better than soap but also saved money.

**Success often comes from chance, but it belongs to those who are attentive. Chen Kaixuan's connection with the detergent industry was accidental, and creativity is indeed an important part of business operations, but it is only a breakthrough point for success.** After asking around, he found that the town's grocery stores sourced their goods from Guangzhou, and with shipping costs and profit, each bag was marked up by 15 cents. At that time, he thought, if he could buy local laundry detergent in Puning, wouldn't he save a large portion of the shipping cost?

So, Chen Kaixuan raised 3,000 yuan from his parents, contacted a local laundry detergent factory in Puning, and opened a small shop specializing in laundry detergent across from the grocery store with the long queue. Over the year, business went smoothly. Due to the affordable price, eventually his shop became the only one selling laundry detergent in Liusha. Later, Chen Kaixuan signed an exclusive distribution agreement with the factory, expanded business to other towns, and brought in his brother Chen Kaichen and a few friends. Within just five years, he became the largest wholesale trader of laundry detergent in Puning.

Just as the Chen brothers were ready to go all out, the factory, seeing profit, unilaterally broke the contract and opened its own stores. As a result, Chen Kaixuan's warehouse was piled with a large stock of laundry detergent, and he lost a considerable amount of money. After painful reflection, Chen Kaixuan was no longer willing to be a mere "middleman" and decided to create his own brand. In 1994, Chen Kaixuan, together with his brother Chen Kaichen and four other partners, founded Liby Company in Guangzhou.

In the 1990s, the daily chemical industry had two major bases: one was the old base in Shanghai, and the other was the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong, where many competitors emerged. Apart from a few imported or joint-venture brands like P&G and Unilever, many local brands originated during this period. At that time, Guangdong was the most competitive market for washing products in China.

When Liby was first established, it was more like a "briefcase company," renting three small offices, "being the boss during the day and sleeping on the floor at night." However, it should be pointed out that **the "Liby" trademark was registered in 1991, three years before the company was founded, which shows Chen Kaixuan's forward-thinking brand awareness.** At the beginning, Liby didn't have its own factory; it used the OEM model (original equipment manufacturing), which was also ahead of its time. To open up sales, he spent 5,000 yuan on TV advertising. Of course, in Guangzhou, where daily chemical competitors were numerous, it wasn't easy to carve out a place.

Liby laundry detergent first became famous in the Chaoshan area. Chen Kaixuan brought the product back to his old base—his hometown Puning—and together with his brother, developed grocery stores and small shops into his distribution network. From then on, Liby's market expanded not only to Chaoshan and surrounding areas but also covered counties and towns across Guangdong. In the late 1990s, competition in the finished laundry detergent market intensified, and many manufacturers slashed prices, engaging in price wars. But Liby insisted on not lowering prices, instead shifting its focus to brand strategy. At that time, in Guangdong province alone, Liby was the brand with the most aggressive advertising, spending heavily on TV and other channels.

More importantly, Liby gradually changed its OEM model, establishing its own production bases and R&D centers, and signed strategic cooperation agreements with international daily chemical giants such as BASF (Germany), Dow Chemical (USA), and Novozymes (Denmark), for in-depth cooperation in technology and R&D. In less than 20 years, Liby became a leading enterprise in domestic washing products. Currently, Liby Group owns several well-known brands, including Liby, Liubizhi, Lantian, and Qingyi, with products covering nine major categories and hundreds of varieties, including fabric care, dishwashing, disinfection, and home cleaning. On the latest Hurun Rich List, Chen Kaixuan's personal wealth reached 13 billion yuan.

Low-key and frugal, the Liby founders, Chen Kaichen and Chen Kaixuan, dress simply and don't look like wealthy people. Liby spends lavishly on advertising, but the two brothers' clothing, belongings, and food are all simple!

Why Doesn't Liby Go Public?
△ Chen Kaichen, Vice Chairman of Liby Group

Liby, originating from Chaoshan merchants, has a strong imprint of traditional Chaoshan culture in its corporate culture, family inheritance, and even children's education.

Since the company's founding, through over thirty years of ups and downs, the Chen brothers have worked together seamlessly. Chen Kaixuan is like the "patriarch" and "chief director," while his elder brother Chen Kaichen is the "second director" and also a supporting veteran, like his right-hand man.

Liby's corporate culture, such as the corporate values of "integrity, responsibility, quality, truth, and innovation," as well as the "Ten Hearts of Liby People" (patriotic heart, grateful heart, kinship heart, sharing heart, altruistic heart, tolerant heart, simple heart, ordinary heart, self-reflective heart, and confident heart) and the "Liby People's Spirit," were all personally formulated by Chen Kaixuan.

**Religious beliefs and family concepts hold an extremely important place in the hearts of Chaoshan people, with temples and ancestral halls everywhere, which also influences many Chaoshan merchants, and many bring these into their enterprises.** For example, Chen Kaixuan often uses concepts like "plant good causes, accumulate good virtues, and reap good results" to educate and guide company employees.

**"There are always more solutions than difficulties, more solutions than problems. Nothing is impossible, nothing is unachievable. As long as you dare to think, have ideas, are prepared, and take action, all problems can be solved, and all goals and wishes can be realized."** This is Chen Kaixuan's common saying in the company, and it is also the "truth" he uses to educate the younger generation of the family. Like many traditional Chaoshan merchants, the second generation of the Liby family has a strong sense of family mission, works hard, and is also taking over jointly under the "no-division model," distributed across various business units and companies under Liby Group.

△ Chen Danxia, Chairman of Shanghai New Gaozhi Cosmetics

Chen Danxia is the eldest daughter of Chen Kaichen, the "second director" of Liby. Her two younger brothers are also in Liby-affiliated enterprises. In 2002, to expand into the Australian market, Liby set up a branch in Australia. Chen Danxia, who had planned to study in the UK, instead enrolled at the University of Sydney. In Australia, she played multiple roles: general manager of Liby's Sydney branch, a student, and a "little nanny" taking care of her two younger brothers who came to study in Australia.

Among the second generation of the family, Chen Danxia has the longest tenure at Liby. Many of Liby's brands were acquired through mergers and acquisitions, such as Tianjin "Lantian" (completed in 2005) and Shanghai "New Gaozhi Cosmetics" (acquired in 2006). The Gaozhi brand was founded in Hong Kong and entered the mainland market in 1984, but it had a turbulent history and changed hands several times. Chen Danxia took over as general manager of Gaozhi in 2008; at the time, she was only on a business trip to Shanghai, but a headquarters order put her in charge.

Without Guangzhou Aoxiya and Shanghai New Gaozhi, cosmetics would have nothing to do with Liby Group. These two territories are the fruits of years of careful cultivation by Chen Danxia, the second generation of Liby. **Last year, media reported that Gaozhi, led by Chen Danxia, was seeking a separate IPO. If successful, it would be the first listed segment under Liby Group.**

Chen Kaixuan says he is already "semi-retired," which is related to the fact that his brothers' children and his own children have successively entered the succession stage. **In addition to the spirit of hard work, diligence, frugality, and daring to be first, the Chaoshan people's low-key pragmatism and emphasis on loyalty and filial piety are major traditions in family inheritance, which is also an important foundation for the second generation of Chaoshan merchants to take over early, willingly, and competently.**

△ Chen Zebin, Director of Liby Group and General Manager of Marketing Center

Besides focusing on the daily chemical main business, many of Liby's business territories are achievements of the second generation in succession and entrepreneurship. For example, in 2016, Chen Kaixuan's son, Chen Zebin, participated in the B+ round of financing for the washing and care vertical platform e袋洗, led by Liby Group, to implement the strategic integration of the Internet+ industry chain.

For many years, Liby Group's annual sales revenue has been over 10 billion yuan, with annual tax payments exceeding 1.5 billion yuan, and it is a leader in the detergent industry. However, Chen Kaixuan, the helmsman of Liby, has always insisted on not going public. **"Create a world-famous brand and build a century-old Liby!" is the goal of this leader of the daily chemical leading enterprise. He is not eager to go public for financing, saying, "Going public is good, but it's not a one-size-fits-all solution."**

Of course, the founder's generation's ideas do not necessarily represent the second generation. At the end of July 2017, Chen Danxia, director of Liby Group and chairman of New Gaozhi and Aoxiya Group, mentioned in a speech: "Because after Lafang went public, in recent months I have met with many people and securities firms every day. It seems many people think our daily chemical industry has a bright future and that we should seize this opportunity. In fact, our Gaozhi, Chaowei, and Aoxiya all plan to go public in the future."

At that time, Chen Danxia compared P&G and LG, believing that future family businesses would be divided into two schools: **one that does not go public, and another that uses capital platforms to grow and expand.** She said that for non-listed business modules, they would adopt P&G's "focused breakthrough" approach, focusing on specific areas, expanding multiple categories, and achieving large-scale expansion through rapid globalization. For the listed modules, they would learn from Korea's LG "diversified and enterprising" model, as its diversification is in unrelated fields, mostly implementing "holding management."

△ Chen Kaixuan introducing Guangzhou Liby

**On the official website of Liby Group, the word "finance" rarely appears, and Chen Kaixuan is not in a hurry to take Liby public, but that doesn't prevent the family from laying out financial plans.**

When Buchang Pharmaceutical went public, there were many venture capital shareholders lurking, such as investment tycoon Li Rucheng of Youngor, Huali Group, and Liby Group. In November 2010, Tianjin Baokai transferred a 2% stake in Buchang, and the partners of Tianjin Baokai were mainly Chen Kaixuan, Chen Kaichen, and Chen Kaixuan's son Chen Zebin.

Additionally, according to the "China Business News," **Liby Group has long been involved in banking, securities, and other financial fields, and was once one of the founding shareholders of Yao Zhenhua's Foresea Life Insurance.** In 2012, when Foresea Life was established, Liby Group held 16.5% of its shares. Chen Kaixuan himself, as well as Chen Zhansheng, the eldest son of his brother Chen Kaichen and the eldest of the second generation, both served as directors of Foresea Life. However, in 2013 and 2015, Liby transferred its shares in Foresea Life in two installments.

△ Chen Zhansheng

Chen Zhansheng, born in 1981, is the eldest son of the Liby family. He studied at Tsinghua PBCSF EMBA. Regarding Liby Group's lack of plans to go public, he has his own views: **"Using financial means to achieve a second takeoff for the family business is something I have been thinking about. Finance is huge; it's at the top of the industry food chain, and all businesses can be seen as basic financial products."**

**From this perspective, the first generation of Liby founders' "not going public" is quite similar to Huawei's Ren Zhengfei's thinking: down-to-earth, steady, and focused on their own business. For the second generation like Chen Danxia and Chen Zhansheng, they are more willing to engage in finance, hoping to use the wings of finance to achieve a second takeoff for the family business.** Of course, besides the different entrepreneurial backgrounds, the second generation of the Chen family often has study-abroad experience, and their perspectives and focuses differ.

Similar to Yao Zhenhua of Baoneng, Li Dongsheng of TCL, and Ma Xingtian of Kangmei Pharmaceutical, they are all exceptionally low-key, unwilling to show off, rarely appear in public, and have nothing to do with certain "internet celebrity entrepreneurs." Moving forward quietly may be one of Chen Kaixuan's reasons for not going public.

This article is from the WeChat official account Yibo Shuo (ID: yangyibotcc)
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