Qian'an Technology (920065.BJ) commenced its online subscription process for its initial public offering on July 20, setting an issue price of 24.3 yuan per share with a total offering of 17.5 million shares.

This company is another "category champion" emerging from the Shenzhen cross-border e-commerce contingent in the North American market.

In June, data released by the prominent e-commerce platform Amazon showed that Ohuhu, Qian'an Technology's drawing marker brand, currently ranks first in sales within the platform's art brush category, holding a market share exceeding 40% in the alcohol-based marker segment.

However, according to the prospectus, pressures are beginning to surface for Qian'an Technology.

For the first half of this year, the company expects revenue to be approximately 9.4 to 9.6 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of about 5% to 7.5%.

Net profit attributable to the parent company's owners is projected to be between 1.1 and 1.16 billion yuan, indicating a year-on-year change ranging from a decrease of about 4.5% to an increase of 0.7%.

Path to Brand Development

Similar to the growth trajectory of many cross-border e-commerce companies, Qian'an Technology leveraged the supply chain advantages in foreign trade from hubs like Shenzhen and Yiwu to establish its foundation.

The company's prospectus indicates its primary product categories include art supplies, digital electronics, sports and outdoor gear, and home and garden products, with sales markets focused mainly on the United States and Canada.

Among these, the Ohuhu brand of drawing markers has become the main driver for the company's revenue and profit growth.

The prospectus details that from 2010 to 2014, the company was in its start-up phase, primarily exploring overseas markets via the Amazon platform and building a foundation through digital electronics.

From 2015 to 2018, as industry competition intensified, the company clarified its strategic shift towards "branding," initiating the development of its own R&D and operational systems, and successively launching brands like Ohuhu, iClever (consumer electronics like computers and chargers), Sportneer (sports equipment like bike trainers), and Tribit (Bluetooth speakers, headphones, etc.).

From 2019 to the present, alongside the development of China's cross-border e-commerce sector, the company expanded its presence from Amazon to include independent brand websites, AliExpress, TikTok Shop, and others, forming a relatively stable product matrix and brand influence that has driven scaled performance growth.

Data shows that from 2023 to 2025, Qian'an Technology's revenue grew from 14 billion yuan to 19.8 billion yuan, while net profit increased from approximately 960 million yuan to 2.2 billion yuan.

In 2024 and 2025, the company's net profit grew year-on-year by about 50% and 52%, respectively.

In recent years, the company's business focus has also shifted, with art supply products contributing more significantly to performance.

From 2023 to 2025, the revenue contribution from the Ohuhu brand rose from about 24% to 42% of total revenue, while the share from lower-margin home and garden products decreased from approximately 22% to 15%.

He Ding, Chairman of Qian'an Technology, mentioned at an Amazon innovation leaders forum in June that before Ohuhu's entry, the alcohol-based marker segment was long dominated by overseas, particularly Japanese, major brands occupying the high-end price tier, where a single marker could sell for around $8.

At the other end were numerous low-price brands selling 48-color sets for around ten to twenty dollars.

He Ding noted that this market featured established players with high prices and strong brand recognition on one side, and intense low-price competition among generic products on the other.

He believes Ohuhu's marker category is not a new niche but found a balance in price and product between high-end brands and generics, capturing users.

He Ding also mentioned that when Qian'an Technology first entered the marker category, the brand had no recognition and also engaged in price competition.

However, what truly helped Ohuhu break away from price wars was not further price cuts, but interaction with fans on social media.

He stated that deep feedback from 100 real users is more valuable than 10,000 instances of generic exposure.

Fans told Ohuhu they wanted more colors, with up to 20 shades of a single color like red; that hard tips were not flexible enough, desiring soft tips; and that it was wasteful to repurchase an entire set when only a few markers ran out.

Consequently, Ohuhu expanded its products from 48 colors to 72, then to 320 colors, developed soft tips, dual-tip markers with one hard and one soft end, and further created products with replaceable tips and refillable ink.

Qian'an Technology's rapid growth period coincided with the "dividend period" of China's cross-border e-commerce development.

Data released by the General Administration of Customs earlier this year showed that China's cross-border e-commerce import and export volume reached 2.75 trillion yuan in 2025, a 69.7% increase from 2020.

Simultaneously, the proportion of high-value-added categories in China's cross-border e-commerce exports has risen.

For instance, while the share of apparel, footwear, and bags remained relatively stable, the proportion of digital products and accessories like mobile phones and computers (16.5%) increased by 2.6 percentage points year-on-year, whereas home textiles and kitchenware (10.4%) decreased by 3.5 percentage points.

Judging from the main export categories in cross-border e-commerce currently, Qian'an Technology's key growth product, art materials, is not in the most fiercely competitive segment.

Mounting Challenges

However, the challenges facing Qian'an Technology are clear: overall industry growth is slowing, and the Amazon channel and Western markets it heavily relies on face significant uncertainties.

On July 20, the "2025 China Cross-Border E-Commerce Annual Development Report" released by the China Association of Trade in Services pointed out that in 2025, under dual pressures of weak global trade and tightening overseas regulations, the growth rate of China's cross-border e-commerce industry is gradually returning to rationality, shifting from high-speed, extensive growth to a stage of high-quality development.

The report also noted that the global cross-border e-commerce landscape is undergoing profound reshaping.

In the main markets operated by Qian'an Technology, the North American market has been continuously affected by the cancellation of the de minimis exemption policy since last year, while compliance costs in Europe remain persistently high.

Qian'an Technology also frankly acknowledges the market change risks it faces in its prospectus.

For example, despite efforts to diversify sales channels, revenue from Amazon still accounted for over 85% during the reporting period.

Additionally, overseas income constituted over 99% of revenue, with the U.S. market consistently contributing more than 51%.

The company stated that since February 2025, frequent adjustments to U.S. tariff policies towards China have increased trade uncertainty, posing significant potential cost pressures on its export business to the U.S.

If the company cannot effectively respond to tariff fluctuations through supply chain optimization and pricing strategy adjustments, its operating performance may face volatility or even significant decline.

Furthermore, the company's export business primarily settles in foreign currencies such as US dollars, euros, and Canadian dollars, making it continuously susceptible to exchange rate fluctuations.

This foreign exchange risk has already manifested in the company's performance for the first half of this year.

From January to June 2026, the company expects revenue to increase compared to the same period last year, while net profit attributable to parent company owners remains similar.

The primary reason for this discrepancy between revenue and profit changes is the exchange loss incurred due to the depreciation of the US dollar against the Chinese yuan in the first half of 2026.

Sustained Market Potential

Despite rising risks, the market outlook remains considerable.

Feedback from multiple cross-border e-commerce practitioners indicates that although the European and American markets are challenging, the industry still widely regards them as premium markets with high potential and strong purchasing power compared to other regions.

On July 20, a manager from a traditional foreign trade enterprise transitioning to cross-border e-commerce mentioned that over the past year, feedback from overseas clients shows an increasing number of traditional buyers are also accelerating their shift to online channels to adapt to market changes and avoid falling behind in competition.

This manager believes cross-border e-commerce is gradually evolving from a new business model to a normalized channel in foreign trade, with considerable growth space remaining for the industry.

He stated that while competition is fierce, the market is also sufficiently large.

At the aforementioned Amazon forum, He Ding also discussed the company's future direction.

He said that over the past five years, Ohuhu has vertically raised the price ceiling and will continue developing products for core users like art enthusiasts and professionals, persisting in moving upmarket.

Simultaneously, the marker category will horizontally expand to include products like acrylic markers.

He Ding also mentioned that Ohuhu will promote IP co-branding collaborations and cross-brand synergies.

He cited a collaboration with an American brand last year, where the first batch of 5,000 sets sold out within 10 minutes of listing.

He Ding added that cross-brand synergies will become a regular practice in the future.

An industry insider in the art supplies sector noted that the core global market for art materials has long been dominated by Western countries, with North America and Europe accounting for about 70% of the market share.

Most Chinese art material manufacturers are still in a stage of small scale and acting as OEMs for larger companies.

The insider pointed out that in recent years, Chinese-owned brands going global have achieved good results, citing examples like Marie's and Conda.

They believe it is a favorable direction for Chinese art material manufacturers to enter from niche segments, but transitioning from a "single category" to an "industry brand" requires continuous efforts in product iteration and brand marketing; otherwise, they can easily be replaced.