SKP Beijing, China‘s top-grossing luxury department store operator, is slated to sell around 42 to 45 percent of the company to Boyu Capital, according to a notice posted on the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision and Administration’s website.
According to the notice, through its affiliated entities Boyu Capital’s fifth and largest U.S. dollar-denominated fund plans to acquire a partial stake in SKP Beijing, or Beijing Hualian Department Store Co. Ltd. Following the transaction, the Boyu-affiliated entity will indirectly hold a 42 to 45 percent equity stake in Beijing SKP as a financial investor. The notice, which was quietly published on April 30, will remain publicly available until Friday.
The notice revealed that Radiance Investment Holdings Pte. Ltd. and Hualian Group own 60 percent and 40 percent of SKP Beijing, respectively, before the Boyu transaction.
After the transaction, Radiance Investment Holdings will continue to indirectly hold a 42 to 45 percent stake in the company and retain control of the luxury retailer, the notice said. Radiance Investment Holdings will likely retain its directly held 10 percent stake in the company, according to SKP’s company structure published by the search platform Tianyancha.
SKP Beijing’s operational and management structure will remain unchanged, according to the notice.
The luxury department store was founded in 2006 by Hualian Group and an individual investor, according to the notice. “The individual is mainly involved in investment activities, while Hualian Group operates primarily in the domestic retail sector,” the notice said.
According to Tianyancha, SKP Beijing currently has three shareholders. Radiance Investment Holdings owns 60 percent of the retailer, with 50 percent of that stake held via Ruide Fashion (Beijing) Commercial & Trading Co. Ltd., while Hualian Group owns the remaining 40 percent.
The notice also disclosed Beijing SKP’s market share in the domestic department store market. In 2024, SKP Beijing’s market shares in Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu and Wuhan were around 10 to 15 percent, 15 to 20 percent, 10 to 15 percent and 0 to 5 percent, respectively.
The details of the transaction with Boyu were not disclosed in the notice, however, previous local media reports put a $4 billion to $5 billion price tag on the SKP business.
SKP Beijing did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
Boyu Capital is a Chinese private equity firm founded in 2011 by Louis Cheung, former chief financial officer of Ping An Insurance; Alvin Jiang, the grandson of China‘s former president Jiang Zemin; Mary Ma, a former partner at TPG Capital, and Sean Tong, formerly of General Atlantic. The firm quickly gained prominence through a series of high-profile backings, including from Alibaba, Xiaomi, JD.com and TikTok‘s parent company ByteDance.
Boyu operates both renminbi and U.S. dollar-denominated funds, which has helped global investors — such as Singapore’s state-owned Temasek Holdings, Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-shing and the New York State Common Retirement Fund — among others, access to investment in China and the broader APAC region.
In 2021, its fifth U.S. dollar fund was established in Singapore and raised a record $6.8 billion, becoming the largest U.S. dollar fund operating in China at the time, according to local media reports.
Radiance Investment Holdings was founded in 2011 in Singapore; the entity, which primarily engages in investment activities, is controlled by a private individual.
SKP Beijing, China’s biggest and most productive retailer in 2019, according to press reports at the time became the world’s most profitable mall in 2020 after beating Harrods with annual sales of 17.7 billion renminbi, or around $2.46 billion.
In 2023, sales reached a record high of 26.5 billion renminbi, or $3.68 billion, in revenue. However, amid ongoing macroeconomic challenges that have dampened consumer confidence and with travel retail making a comeback, sales at SKP reportedly dropped 17 percent year-over-year to 22 billion renminbi, or $3.06 billion, in 2024.
According to local media reports, in the first quarter of 2025, sales at SKP Beijing rose 18 percent year-over-year.
Apart from its Beijing flagship, Beijing SKP operates three other branches, including Xi’an SKP, Chengdu SKP and Wuhan SKP. Future projects in Guangzhou and Hangzhou are in the works.
