China Hints a State Backer for Rednote's Owner Could Smooth IPO
Chinese regulators have informally indicated to Xiaohongshu Technology Co., owner of the Rednote app, that bringing in a state-owned investor could help make approvals smoother for any future listing, people familiar with the matter said.
It's unclear if Xiaohongshu will decide to act on the suggestion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are ongoing and private.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Brazil's JHSF Diversifies Its Luxury ‘Ecosystem'
For JHSF, a mall isn't just a mall, a restaurant isn't just a restaurant. They're part of a holistic approach to luxury that the São Paolo-based conglomerate uses to cater to the affluent lifestyle. More from WWD The Met and Vacheron Constantin Reveal Winners of Artisan Residency Program Zadig & Voltaire Founders Acquire Maison Poiray and Aurélie Bidermann Jewelry Brands Hudson's Bay Signs Lease Deal With Chinese Billionaire Shopping centers, hotels and restaurants, upscale condos and houses, office towers, surf clubs, an asset management firm — even an exclusive executive airport for private jets — they all sit in the JHSF portfolio. And the company operates dozens of designer stores in Brazil for luxury brands such as Celine, Chloé, Isabel Marant, Balmain and Emilio Pucci while also leasing space to many other high-end names in its centers. 'You have important groups that have malls, but they are just mall operators. You have important groups that operate hotels, but they just manage hotels. And there are groups that operate just restaurants. But there isn't a group that connects to this luxury lifestyle like we do,' said Augusto Martins, the chief executive officer of JHSF. JHSF is a complex corporation with five business units that for outsiders isn't easy to get a handle on at first. It's sometimes labeled too narrowly as a builder, though that's how the company began in 1972. The business was founded by Fábio Auriemo. In 2002, his son, José Auriemo became CEO. He now serves as executive chairman, with Martins as CEO. The Auriemo family currently holds 55.2 percent of the total capital of the company, which gets its name from the first-name initials of the founders. For any highly diversified company, there are challenges and opportunities. Expertise across industries, attracting a wider range of talent, and the creating synergies are required. But being diversified, according to Martins, helps buttress the company against macro headwinds, and the various business units of JHSF share many of the same customers. 'All of our businesses are very connected to the high end sector,' Martins said. 'Our customers get off at the airport, take the helicopter, go shopping at our Cidade Jardim shopping center, and dine at a Fasano restaurant. It's a complete experience.' Or they live in JHSF's mammoth Boa Vista Complex, a gated community in Porto Feliz located an hour from São Paulo. In an area roughly the size of Manhattan, Boa Vista Village contains hundreds of large homes and apartments, acres and acres of lush landscaping, golf courses, an equestrian center, a triathlon training center, two polo fields, a spa and a wave pool for surfing, among other amenities. The Shopping Cidade Jardim mall, located in the Morumbi district of São Paulo, continues to attract top European brands. Van Cleef & Arpels, and the L'Avenue restaurant from Paris recently opened in the center. Three more luxury brand flagships will soon open, furthering the upscale, international appeal. The shopping center is part of a complex consisting of eleven residential towers, and four new ones under construction, that are part of the high-end condominium Parque Cidade Jardim, and three commercial towers that make up the Cidade Jardim Corporate Center. During an interview at the JHSF's Fasano Fifth Avenue hotel and restaurant situated on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue between 62rd and 63rd Streets — where suites start at $970 a night and duplexes start at $8,000 per night — Martins outlined what can only be described as a full plate of JHSF expansion projects in the works in Brazil and other countries. Over the next five years, the company predicts it will expand its gross leasable area from 58,000 square meters to 99,000 square meters. Here's what he said is happening: In September or October this year, Boa Vista Village will open its 'Town Center,' an open-air destination with 15,000 square meters of gross leasable area for approximately 100 designer shops as well as restaurants, galleries, entertainment features and a church. It's a setting that Martins said is inspired by the villages of the Hamptons on Long Island's East End. Shops Faria Lima, a 10,000-square-meter shopping center with stores, restaurants, a cinema and a gym in the heart of São Paulo's technological and financial center, is expected to be complete in 2027. It's being designed by famed architects Sig Bergamin and Murilo Lomas, with famed landscaper Maria João D'Orey. Usina São Paulo, a hub for corporate offices, media firms, entertainment and culture situated by the Pinheiros River, will house JHSF's new headquarters as it nears completion on a third phase of development. JHSF's São Paulo Catarina International Airport is being expanded from 12 hangers to 16 hangers for dozens of additional private jets. There's a waiting list of more than 100. The airport is often compared to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The São Paulo Surf Club, with a wave pool for surfing, will open next to the Shopping Cicade Jardim mall. (JHSF's Boa Vista Village Surf Club also has a pool with technology that generates waves for up to 22 seconds each, and which reportedly cost $320 million.) A fourth expansion of Catarina Fashion Outlet, located in São Roque, 45 minutes from São Paulo. It has more than 51,000 gross square meters leasable area and 300 brands including Coach, Armani, Burberry, Aeropostale, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Michael Kors and Under Armour. On the international front, JHSF is rolling out five Fasano Hotels, starting with South Beach, Miami, on Collins Avenue next year. Through 2027, four more hotels will open, in the Mayfair section of London; in Sardinia, Italy, opposite the island of Tavolara; in Cascais, Portugal, in Quinta da Marinha, and in Punta del Este on La Barra beach in Uruguay. JHSF bought the Fasano hotel chain 14 years ago, and opened Fasano Fifth Avenue four years ago. About three years ago, the company opened the Fasano restaurant on Park and 49th Street, the site of the former Four Seasons restaurant, in New York. Considering its proximity to several major financial institutions, the restaurant quickly became a busy power lunch destination. The four-and-a-half-year-old JHSF Capital has roughly $450 million U.S. in assets under management and the team was recently in Dubai and Abu Dhabi meeting with sovereign funds and family offices to raise money for the company's internationalization efforts. With its unique platform, the family-run, publicly held JHSF is the largest luxury player in Latin America. The company continues to show sales and profit gains despite the luxury sector's global softness. For the first quarter of 2025, JHSF's gross revenue rose 37 percent to 439.5 million reais, or about $80 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 61 percent to 197.8 million reais, or about $35 million U.S. Recurring revenues alone rose 36 percent to 332.8 million reais, or about $60 million, with adjusted EBITDA based on recurring figures up 52 percent to 147.4 million reais, or $27 million. JHSF has begun concentrating more on recurring revenues which include rents from residences, airport hanger space, and retailers in the malls; club memberships; Fasano hotel fees charged to landlords, and JHSF Capital, and do not include real estate changes. These recurring revenues are steady, received regularly, and can be considered a better barometer of a company's financial performance, and a better basis for planning and forecasting. For all of 2024, recurring revenues rose 21 percent to 1.1 billion reais, or about $200 million, representing 64 percent of the company's total revenue. Adjusted EBITDA rose 42 percent to 495 million reais, or approximately $90 million. The luxury sector globally has been slowing, but according to Martins, 'In Brazil, there is probably a different scenario from what you find around the world.' The Cidade Jardim shopping center saw sales growth of 25 percent last quarter, and currently is 100 percent occupied. 'This platform, this ecosystem we created, is making a difference,' Martins said. He also credited JHSF's curation of luxury brand fashion houses and restaurants, citing such recent additions as Celine and Dior, and the Makoto and L'Avenue restaurants. 'We create a mix and an exclusive project that is giving us this power.' Martins said JHSF further benefits by being less dependent on international tourism, which is drying up around the world amid trade wars and cross-border conflicts. 'Consumer demand is holding up in Brazil,' Martins said. 'Yes, there's a lot of inflation now. We now operate with around 5 percent of inflation in Brazil, but this is in our culture. Unfortunately, inflation is not a new issue. It's an issue that has become natural for us, and this 5 percent rate is historically low. We used to have 30 percent.' The Brazilian luxury market has been valued at $17.1 billion, according to Bain & Company. The sector in Brazil is projected to experience an annual growth rate of 6 percent to 8 percent until 2030, driven by a growing base of high-net-worth individuals. Even though luxury consumers account for less than 1 percent of Brazil's population, their combined wealth exceeds 3.5 trillion reais ($613 billion), making the demographic a significant economic force. Brazil is home to approximately 380,000 individuals with at least $100 million in assets, highlighting the country's concentration of ultra-wealthy residents. The collective wealth of these individuals represents nearly 31 percent of Brazil's 2023 GDP, which stood at 11.3 trillion reais, or $1.98 trillion. JHSF has been doubling down on luxury. 'We had two very nice shopping malls in northern Brazil but they are not focused on the high end sector,' Martins said. 'So last year, though JHSF Capital, these two malls were sold. They were not connected to our strategy.' Martins said JHSF is on a trajectory of good growth. 'We have been investing in these different business units a lot in the past years to diversify our risk, to diversify our structure,' Martins said. 'We are not only in real estate development. It's about connecting with customers in different ways, in different moments of their lives. So we invested a lot to create clubs, to create new hotels, to expand the malls.' Asked if there is any desire to further diversify the company to businesses or sectors the company is not involved in Martins said: 'We think that now we have a very nice combination of businesses. They are very complementary. So when we [embark] on a new project, we try to have almost all the business units that we operate included. It's about maintaining total attention to our customer. How do they live? Where to they go? What products do they want? We will continue with this attention to their lives.' Last December, Martins hosted a holiday party for brand partners at the Fasano Restaurant on Park Avenue, as a way to say thank-you for their support. Many luxury and designer brands sent representatives. 'Not only have we been working with them at our malls Shopping Cidade Jardim and Shops Jardins, but we have also been connecting them with our high-end customers in our luxury residences, Fasano hotels and restaurants, private clubs, as well as in São Paulo Catarina Executive Airport, the only international private airport in Brazil.' For Martins and JSHF, it's all about connectivity and making it happen in the lap of luxury. Best of WWD In Commercial Real Estate, Experience Matters Striving for Retail of a Different Ilk in Boston's Seaport Box Equities Forms Joint Venture With Artemis Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
RH Continues to Mitigate Tariff Pressure; Says Revenues Will Take Short-term Hit in Q2
MILAN — RH shares are still recovering from the 'Liberation Day' duties announced by President Donald Trump on April 2. Since then, the firm has shifted sourcing out of China and rerouted a significant portion of its upholstered furniture to its own North Carolina factory, RH chief executive officer Gary Friedman said Thursday, as the company released its first-quarter results. The Corte Madera, Calif.-based RH firm formerly known as Restoration Hardware posted a net profit of $8.04 million, or 43 cents a share in the three month fiscal period ended May 3. That compares to a loss of $3.63 million or 20 cents a share in the same period a year earlier. Shares rallied 19 percent in late trade on the news. In April, President Trump's trade policy announcement drove RH's shares to their lowest level in almost five years. More from WWD Vietnam's Ready For High Stakes US Trade Talks To Avoid Steep Tariffs Fritz Hansen's New Creative Director Ushers in Modern Era, Welcomes Michael Anastassiades to Lineup What a 55 Percent Tariff on Chinese Goods Could Mean for Footwear Firms Revenues fell slightly short of analyst expectations, as well as the revenue target RH issued in April. Sales rose 12 percent to $814 million in the fiscal three-month period ended May 3. This compares to RH's guidance of a 12.5 percent to 13.5 percent rise. A Factset poll of analysts forecasted sales of $818.6 million. In the same period, RH posted an operating margin of 6.9 percent and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization or EBITDA margin of 13.1 percent. 'While there remains uncertainty until the reciprocal tariff negotiations are complete, we have proven we are well positioned to compete favorably in any market conditions,' Friedman continued, adding that the firm sees disruption negatively impacting its revenues by approximately 6 points in the second quarter and will recover in the second half. Friedman said the company is sticking to its full-year fiscal guidance. Offsetting Market Headwinds Despite a challenging housing market, the worst in 50 years, RH forecasted revenue growth of 10 to 13 percent in fiscal 2025, an adjusted operating margin of 14 to 15 percent and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 20 to 21 percent. Friedman also said the company is working on a long-term sourcing strategy to diversify production. In fiscal 2024, the company sought to offset macro headwinds by investing $2.2 billion into stock repurchases and expanding its portfolio with real estate assets totaling an estimated equity value of approximately $500 million. 'We plan to monetize opportunistically as market conditions warrant,' he said. With regard to excess inventory worth $200 to $300 million, the company plans to turn it into cash over the next 12 to 18 months. Taking Market Share, Amid Downturn During the first-quarter earnings conference call, Friedman was enthusiastic about upcoming openings in London, Milan and Paris. RH Paris will open in September, during the Maison&Objet trade show. Located on Champs Élysées, it will be RH's most 'elegant and inspiring Gallery yet.' RH has built a freestanding RH Interior Design Studio and will open Le Jardin RH restaurant that will serve up American classics. Its rooftop is privy to views of the Eiffel Tower and Grand Palais. London and Milan will open in 2026. The Galleries are a winning concept, he added, and European revenues continue to rise. RH England, The Gallery at Aynho Park — a 73-acre, 17th-century estate opened in 2023, is testament to that success, he said, noting that it generated $46 million in total demand in its second full year. This bodes well for all new Galleries, including the upcoming London Gallery in Mayfair. 'If an RH Gallery in the English countryside, with an estimated population of 100,000 in a 10-mile radius two hours outside of London, can generate $46 million… what can an RH Gallery in the center of Mayfair, the most exclusive shopping district in London with a population of 9.7 million, do in its second full fiscal year?' RH's expansion strategy is focused on taking market share despite macro headwinds. Moving forward, RH will opening seven to nine new Galleries per year. On Thursday, China affirmed a trade deal announced by President Trump, marking a truce between the world's two largest economies. The U.S. will impose 55 percent duties on Chinese goods, while China will impose 10 percent tariffs on all U.S. goods. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
Tesla's (TSLA) Full Self-Driving Could Expand in China Due to New Data Export Rules
China has released draft guidelines that could help EV maker Tesla (TSLA) expand its advanced driver-assistance features in the country, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday. For the first time, Beijing has provided clear rules on how data generated in China, including from driver-assistance systems and product development, can be accessed, used, and exported. This is an important step for companies like Tesla, which need to send data abroad in order to improve their systems. Confident Investing Starts Here: The proposed guidelines were published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, along with seven other government agencies, and are now open for public comment. The framework covers key types of information, such as autonomous driving algorithms, training images, operational data, and vehicle-to-road perception data. These are all critical for developing and improving advanced driver-assistance technologies like Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. Being able to export this data is especially valuable for Tesla because the core team working on FSD is based in the U.S., and having access to real-world data from Chinese roads would help optimize the system's performance in China, the world's largest car market. It's worth noting that, until now, strict data controls have been a barrier for foreign automakers. However, the new guidelines could provide Tesla with a clearer path to making its most advanced driver-assistance features more competitive in China. What Is the Prediction for Tesla Stock? Overall, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on TSLA stock based on 14 Buys, 12 Holds, and nine Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average TSLA price target of $285.97 per share implies 12.1% downside risk.
