Heart Capital Congratulates Hanshow Technology on ChiNext Listing | Heart Capital News

On March 11, 2025, Beijing time, Hanshow Technology, a global leader in digital solutions for retail stores, held its IPO ceremony on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, officially listing on ChiNext. The stock trades under the name "Hanshow Technology" with ticker code "301275." The company offered 42.24 million shares at an issue price of RMB 27.50 per share.

As one of its early investors, Jing Zhao, Partner at Heart Capital, extended her sincere congratulations to Hanshow. Since its founding in 2012, Hanshow has grown from a domestic player into a global force, serving more than 400 clients across over 50 countries and establishing itself as a top-tier enterprise in smart retail worldwide.

Earlier, we sat down with Zhao to revisit this eight-year investment journey. Here is our Q&A:

Q1: When did you first discover Hanshow?

I had been tracking digital transformation in retail for a while. There were various angles to approach it — software, hardware, data — but many proved difficult to standardize and scale.

It wasn't until February 2017, when I came across Hanshow's electronic shelf labels, that I realized this was exactly the right direction. Price tags are the foundation of in-store digitization, so I reached out immediately. The company happened to be considering a funding round at the time.

Q2: What made you bullish on electronic shelf labels?

Previously, when supermarkets used traditional paper labels, any change to product information or pricing required reprinting and manual replacement — labor-intensive, costly, and error-prone. Electronic shelf labels dramatically reduce labor costs and enable unified, real-time price changes across all stores.

Our assessment was that electronic shelf labels would become an SKU-level entry point for offline retail. The product is highly standardized, delivers genuine and substantial value to customers, and once adopted, the usage habit becomes irreversible.

Q3: What was your impression of the Hanshow team?

My first impression was that the team was exceptionally grounded and low-profile — they rarely sought the spotlight. Through deeper conversations, I found that CEO Hou and his team possessed particularly sharp market insight and forward-looking strategic vision, combined with extraordinary execution capability and focus. These qualities helped Hanshow rapidly establish a leading position. Electronic shelf labels is an industry where concentration can run high, and at the time, they were virtually the only choice for domestic customers.

Q4: What about Hanshow's technological competitiveness?

Electronic shelf labels may seem simple, but they carry significant technical barriers.

Because they're often deployed in large supermarkets, they need to maintain communication across tens of thousands of labels within a space of several tens of thousands of square meters. The Hanshow team had accumulated years of expertise in wireless communication protocols and chip architecture design. Their products lead the industry across multiple dimensions — communication efficiency, stability, power consumption — and the company has also been actively positioning itself in AI and robotics.

Q5: Hanshow now holds nearly 30% global market share in electronic shelf labels, with continued growth momentum, serving over 400 clients across more than 50 countries and regions. When did Hanshow begin its global expansion?

In 2016–2017, overseas revenue was still a small portion of the business, but the globalization strategy was already clear and resolute.

Our judgment was that overseas markets, particularly Europe, represented a larger market that Hanshow had to capture. We were fully confident in Hanshow's ability to compete against established European electronic shelf label incumbents. The 2017 strategic partnership with French retailer Auchan marked a pivotal step in the company's European push.

Q6: How did Hanshow achieve such high market share in a competitive global market?

Localization has been critical — not merely selling products overseas, but a comprehensive approach to going global.

The company began establishing overseas subsidiaries and building local teams early on. This enabled them to quickly sense and respond to local customer needs and market trends, deliver and deploy efficiently, and provide technical support and after-sales service.

Q7: From investment to today, how do you view Hanshow's growth? What has been most gratifying, or most challenging, along the way?

What's been gratifying is that the team has exceeded revenue targets every single year. From roughly RMB 100 million in revenue when we first invested to over RMB 4 billion today, from being unknown overseas to ranking among the global top three in market share — Hanshow has built genuine brand influence worldwide, earned recognition from an increasing number of global leading retailers, and continues to lead in product and technology innovation.

Global retail is riding a wave of vigorous growth. The IPO is merely a new starting point — Hanshow's future is full of promise.

Q8: Now that Hanshow has listed on ChiNext, as an investor who has long focused on consumer technology and globalization, what are your outlooks and expectations for the industry's future and investment opportunities?

We continue to track opportunities in AI hardware, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and industrial digitization. Beyond Hanshow, we have previously invested in numerous outstanding hardware companies going global — for example, 06810.HK in smart POS terminals, Robosen in consumer robotics, and Shanji Technology in AI glasses and power banks.

We look forward to supporting more exceptional teams like Hanshow that drive innovation and breakthroughs in products and technology, contributing to China's technological advancement and industrial upgrading.

Heart Capital Partner Jing Zhao on site with Hanshow Technology Chairman and General Manager Shiguo Hou.

Founded in 2022, Heart Capital is an early-stage Chinese venture capital fund focused on technology and digitalization. The team is led by Yan Han, founding partner of Lightspeed China, alongside core investors, the CFO, and seasoned investors from industry backgrounds. The team's past investments include Series A stakes in Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV, 09868.HK) and Full Truck Alliance (NYSE: YMM), as well as FinVolution (NYSE: FINV), RoboSense (02498.HK), Baichuan, Manman Lengyun, Fan Deng Reading, World Logistics, Micro-nano Starry Sky, LandSpace, Lanhu, and Starfield, among others. Rooted in China with a global outlook, Heart Capital seeks genuine value in non-consensus. The firm honors the value of people and champions the potential of the human spirit, aspiring to accompany more young Chinese entrepreneurs in strengthening China and expanding onto the world stage.