The once flourishing beauty chain institution, Angema, is now facing a crisis.
Recently, it was learned from the National Enterprise Bankruptcy and Reorganization Information Network that Angema Cosmetics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Shanghai Angema”) has entered into bankruptcy liquidation proceedings. Currently, the administrator of the company is openly recruiting assessment institutions from society to evaluate and liquidate the finances.
So why has Shanghai Angema gone bankrupt?
Debts exceed 100 million, with the vast majority of products already delisted
Recently, according to a notice titled ‘Announcement on the Public Recruitment of Evaluation Institutions for Bankruptcy Liquidation Cases of Shanghai Angema released on the National Enterprise Bankruptcy and Reorganization Information Network, the administrator of Shanghai Angema is recruiting evaluation institutions to assess the value of three immovable properties owned by Shanghai Angema. These properties include Shanghai (2020) Qingzi Real Estate Rights No. 0005330 (390 Kangyuan Road, Qingpu District, Shanghai), Qing2013014447 (No. 109, Lane 901, Kangye Road, Qingpu District, Shanghai), and Qing2012011399 (No. 110, Lane 901, Kangye Road, Qingpu District, Shanghai).
The announcement also indicates that all three immovable properties are designated for industrial use, and they are subject to multiple rounds of judicial seals, with the earliest sealing date recorded as September 30, 2016. Additionally, all three properties currently have tenants leasing them.
Investigations by CHAILEEDO reveal that Shanghai Angema has long been embroiled in litigation and burdened with debt. According to records from the China Judgments Online platform, Shanghai Angema is involved in 70 judicial cases, including disputes related to private lending, labor contracts, equity transfers, and labor service contracts. In terms of case numbers, 2018 saw the highest number of cases involving Shanghai Angema, with a total of 20 cases.
According to publicly available information from Qichacha, Shanghai Angema has been listed as a dishonest debtor 18 times and subject to 25 instances of restricted high consumption, with the total amount involved exceeding 187 million yuan. Furthermore, Shanghai Angema is involved in 26 final cases, with the total amount of executed claims exceeding 194 million yuan, and the total amount of unfulfilled claims reaching 144 million yuan, representing an unfulfilled rate of 74.44%. Among these unfulfilled amounts, the largest is from a civil judgment issued by the Intermediate People’s Court of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province on December 2, 2021, titled ‘Civil Judgment of the First Instance of Civil Equity Transfer Dispute of Jinyun Industrial Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as ‘Jinyun Industrial’) and Wang Anxiang’ (Case No. (2021) Yue 03 Min Chu 5), with an unfulfilled amount of 91.92 million yuan.
According to the China Judgments Online platform, in this case, Jinyun Industrial was the plaintiff, and Beijing Hongrun Tianyuan Gene Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (referred to as ‘Hongtian Biotech’), Shanghai Angema, Wang Anxiang, and others were the defendants. According to the case details, on April 11, 2019, Jinyun Industrial (Party A) signed a repurchase agreement with Wang Anxiang (Party B) and Hongtian Biotech (Party C), agreeing to repurchase 2,021,018 shares of Hongtian Biotech held by Jinyun Industrial for 166 million yuan and stipulating that Party B should pay the balance of 91.56 million yuan for the repurchase of shares by July 15, 2019, at the latest. However, Wang Anxiang failed to fulfill the payment obligation as agreed, constituting a breach of contract. Meanwhile, Shanghai Angema, as a guarantor, is jointly liable for half of Wang Anxiang’s inability to repay the debt.
Additionally, CHAILEEDO learned through the National Medical Products Administration’s platform for the filing of ordinary cosmetics since July 2016, Shanghai Angema has filed a total of 282 products, all under the brand name of Angema, covering categories such as skincare oils, essences, masks, and cleansers. However, currently, over 90% of the products are either delisted or have had their filings canceled.
Furthermore, due to failure to disclose annual reports within the time limit specified in Article 8 of the Interim Measures for the Public Disclosure of Enterprise Information, Shanghai Angema has been listed by the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau as having abnormal operations for three consecutive years. Recently, CHAILEEDO attempted to contact Shanghai Angema for details. After dialing the contact number provided in the company’s 2022 report, the person who answered the call stated that “the company is not Shanghai Angema”.
Not only Shanghai Angema, two affiliated cosmetics subsidiaries under its parent company have been revoked
According to the aforementioned announcement, the debtor profile section reveals that Shanghai Angema was established on May 29, 2012, as a limited liability company (solely foreign-owned) with a registered capital of 30 million US dollars. Its shareholder is Angema Biotechnology (France) Co., Ltd., registered in Hong Kong, with a 100% ownership stake. In terms of business scope, Shanghai Angema primarily manufactures, processes, and researches cosmetics, and engages in technology development, technology transfer, and related services in the biotechnology field.
It is worth mentioning that the parent company of Shanghai Angema has significant influence. According to publicly available information from Qichacha, Angema Biotechnology (France) Co., Ltd. was established in January 2008 as a private limited company. CHAILEEDO noticed that Shanghai Angema and affiliated companies under Angema Biotechnology (France) Co., Ltd. are facing crises.
Information from the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System and Qichacha shows that a wholly-owned subsidiary of Angema Biotechnology (France) Co., Ltd., Jema Reming Biotechnology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (‘Jema Reming’), has been listed as a ‘dishonest debtor’ and subject to restricted high consumption. Additionally, from 2021 to 2023, due to failure to disclose annual reports as required, Jema Reming has been listed by the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau as having abnormal operations for three consecutive years.
Meanwhile, two holding subsidiaries of Jema Reming, Shanghai Shenglehan Cosmetics Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Lehao Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (referred to as ‘Shanghai Lehao’), had their business licenses revoked in July 2022 and June 2023, respectively. Information from the National Medical Products Administration’s platform for filing ordinary cosmetics shows that since July 2016, Shanghai Lehao has filed a total of 46 products under brands such as Yili and Youya, all of which are currently delisted.
Furthermore, according to the equity penetration chart disclosed by Qichacha, the two largest shareholders of Angema Biotechnology (France) Co., Ltd. are Angema Industrial Development Co., Ltd. and Wang Anxiang, with ownership stakes of 99.99% and 0.01%, respectively.
Public information from Qichacha also reveals that Wang Anxiang has investments in a total of 18 external enterprises. Apart from Angema Biotechnology (France) Co., Ltd., the invested enterprises include Hongtian Biotechnology mentioned earlier, as well as Shanghai Angema Beauty Services Co., Ltd., and Beijing Angema Enterprise Management Group Co., Ltd., among others. Several media outlets have previously reported that both Shanghai Angema and Beijing Angema Trading Co., Ltd. are associated companies controlled by Wang Anxiang or affiliated individuals.
So, who is Wang Anxiang?
Before the delisting from the New Third Board, Hongtian Biotechnology disclosed Wang Anxiang’s public resume in its annual report for 2015. According to the report, ‘From November 1998 to August 2005, Wang Anxiang served as the General Manager of Beijing Nature Beauty Cosmetics Co., Ltd.; from January 2008 to present (note: the disclosure date of this report is April 19, 2016), Wang Anxiang has been the President of Angema Biotechnology (France) Co., Ltd.”
According to the introduction by the WeChat public account “Angema,” owned by the account subject Angema Trading, “AnnJema is a new type of aromatherapy research institution. In 1973, the founders of AnnJema, the SAGUIN couple, and dozens of members jointly established a new type of aromatherapy. In 2008, Wang Anxiang invested heavily to purchase all intellectual property rights of Angema, bringing Angema’s new aromatherapy and lifestyle to China.”
In 2018, Ma Moujun, who was the Executive Dean of the Angema Beijing Headquarters Business School and General Manager of the Maternal and Child Business Division, stated in a media interview, “In 2008, President Wang Anxiang traveled extensively and finally encountered Angema in France, decisively investing heavily to purchase all intellectual property rights of Angema. Angema is a company with “roots,” and it is a career platform that integrates planting, research and development, production, education, service, and promotion of the entire industry chain.”
Most essential oil products have been discontinued, the number of SPA clubs has sharply declined
It is worth mentioning that under the leadership of Wang Anxiang, Angema once thrived in the health and beauty field.
At that time, an interview with Ma Moujun revealed, ‘In 2009, the AnnJema brand debuted in China. In July 2015, Angema’s subsidiary, Hongtian Biotechnology, was listed on the New Third Board. Eventually, the Angema Group achieved the integration of two major health care systems: biotechnology and natural therapy, completing the construction of its green health industry chain. At the same time, Angema also owns more than 500 large-scale SPA clubs with deep cooperation, as well as business sectors such as natural therapy systems and maternal and child centers.’
However, with the recent changes in the market environment and the widespread pressure on physical retail systems, Angema is now facing the fate of downsizing. Just recently, CHAILEEDO searched for “Angema” on Amap and Meituan platforms, revealing only 9 and 12 stores respectively. It’s evident that this is a far cry from the peak when “Angema” stores were spread across various locations.
CHAILEEDO separately contacted the 9 stores found on the Amap platform: Shenyang Angema International SPA Club Changbai Store, Jinhua Angema Store, Beijing Haidian Angema SPA Club Wanshou Road Store, Hangzhou Heyan She Angema Yan’an Store, Beijing Angema SPA Club Chaoyang Joy City Store, Yangzhou Angema Health and Beauty, Nanjing Angelma International SPA Chain Yincheng Store, Shanghai Angema SPA Club Pudong Store, and Heilongjiang Daqing Angema International SPA Club.
Among these, the Shenyang Changbai Store and Shanghai Pudong Store showed ‘does not exist’ and ‘cannot be reached’ respectively; Jinhua Angema Store did not leave a contact number, while the rest of the stores could schedule nursing projects normally.
Furthermore, according to CHAILEEDO’s investigation, the actual names of the Nanjing Angema International SPA Chain Yincheng Store and the Hangzhou Heyan She Angema Yan’an Store are “Runyan” and “Heyan She,” respectively. A staff member of Nanjing Angema International SPA Chain Yincheng Store stated, “The store changed owners many years ago, and the name of the store was changed to ‘Runyan’ accordingly.”
A staff member of Hangzhou Heyan She Angema Yan’an Store said, “The store name has been changed for 6-7 years. Currently, the store mainly sells products under the Heyan She brand, with only a small portion of Angema essential oils being sold. Most of the Angema essential oils have been discontinued, and they are currently unavailable on the market.”
Not only offline, but “Angema”-related products are also difficult to find online. As mentioned in the previous interview article, Ma Moujun said, “Angema has opened its own online mall on platforms such as Tmall and JD.com, where you can buy more than 60 lines of essential oil series products such as Angema fragrances and maternal and child products.” However, currently, CHAILEEDO cannot find any relevant stores when searching for “Angema” on major mainstream e-commerce platforms.
In fact, cases where beauty chain systems are pushed by capital to expand rapidly, leading to crises, are not uncommon. In September last year, the founders of the well-known beauty chain system “Wei Meidu” were restricted from high consumption, with their companies having debts exceeding 800 million yuan, which attracted widespread attention from industry insiders. Correspondingly, there have also been incidents of beauty chain closures due to the breakdown of capital chains.
In response to this, a senior industry insider familiar with capital operations told CHAILEEDO, “The operation cost of beauty and body chain stores is relatively high. When faced with economic downturns and consumer downgrades, there is a risk of capital chain breakdown.”
“In recent years, with the economic downturn, many companies have encountered operating difficulties and problems such as tight liquidity. For companies, they should not blindly expand their scale. Otherwise, if the company’s asset-liability ratio is high, it will easily lead to a “thunderstorm,” another industry insider said.
