Recent court hearing announcements from the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court have once again brought the long-standing rivalry between Goneo Group and Xiaomi into the spotlight.
The announcements reveal that Goneo Group has filed lawsuits against four companies—Xiaomi Communications, Qingmi Technology, Zhejiang Boyi Communication Equipment, and Zhejiang Tmall Network—on the grounds of infringing utility model patents. This legal action covers a complete industrial chain involving brand owners, ecosystem partners, and online/offline channel distributors.
In terms of financial performance, 2025 saw Goneo Group experience a rare simultaneous decline in both revenue and net profit, with full-year revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders falling by 4.78% and 4.72%, respectively.
In the first quarter of this year, the company's performance showed signs of recovery: revenue reached 4.06 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.52%, while net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.058 billion yuan, up 8.55% year-on-year.
Notably, in 2025, Goneo Group distributed a generous dividend of 3.435 billion yuan to its shareholders. As the company's actual controllers, brothers Ruan Liping and Ruan Xueping reaped substantial benefits from this payout.
In the "2026 Hurun Global Rich List" published in March this year, Ruan Liping and Ruan Xueping were listed with individual fortunes of 35.5 billion yuan each.
However, from late October to mid-November last year, Ruan Xueping reduced his stake in the company by approximately 36.17 million shares, cashing out 1.456 billion yuan. Combined with a previous reduction in July 2023, Ruan Xueping has cashed out over 3 billion yuan in the past three years.
Goneo Sues Xiaomi Over Patent Dispute! On May 15, the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court publicized two patent dispute cases. Goneo Group, as the plaintiff, filed lawsuits against Xiaomi Communications, Qingmi Technology, Zhejiang Boyi Communication Equipment, and Zhejiang Tmall Network.
In these two cases, the defendants in both involve Xiaomi Communications and Qingmi Technology, while Zhejiang Boyi Communication Equipment and Zhejiang Tmall Network are involved in separate cases.
The case numbers are (2025) Zhe 01 Min Chu No. 3104 and (2025) Zhe 01 Min Chu No. 3105, scheduled for hearings on May 21 and 22, 2026, respectively. Both cases involve disputes over infringement of utility model patent rights.
Observers point out that, based on the composition of the defendants, Goneo's legal action this time covers the entire industrial chain: core brand owner Xiaomi Communications, Xiaomi ecosystem/supply chain partner Qingmi Technology, offline distributor Zhejiang Boyi Communication Equipment, and online e-commerce platform Zhejiang Tmall Network.
This move is seen as a systematic rights protection action initiated by Goneo Group against Xiaomi's full industrial chain for alleged patent infringement, aiming to hold parties accountable across production, supply, and online/offline sales channels.
According to other reports, information released by the China National Intellectual Property Administration shows that Qingmi, one of the defendants, recently filed four challenges to invalidate three patents held by Goneo Group. These involve two utility model patents and one invention patent.
Among them, the utility model patent named "Protective Door Assembly and Socket" (ZL202220107452.X) was subject to two consecutive invalidation requests. The most recent oral hearing for this patent was held on May 12. This patent was previously challenged by an individual in 2025, and the CNIPA issued a decision of partial invalidation.
According to Goneo Group's 2025 annual report, as a veteran leader in sockets and switches, the company obtained 414 new authorized patents and 20 software copyrights last year. As of the end of last year, the company held a total of 3,282 valid patents and 92 software copyrights.
In recent years, Goneo has been actively enforcing its rights. Data shows that Goneo Group Co., Ltd. alone is currently involved in over 1,000 judicial cases. Among these, Goneo is the plaintiff in 928 cases, accounting for 87.55% of the total.
Of these 928 cases, 588 involve trademark infringement disputes, 37 involve infringement of design patent rights, 37 involve trademark ownership and infringement disputes, and 12 involve infringement of utility model patent rights.
It is worth noting that among the numerous disputes, e-commerce giants Pinduoduo and Alibaba have become frequent opponents, with Goneo often facing them in court.
To date, Goneo has been involved in 272 and 100 cases with Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Taobao Network Co., Ltd., respectively, with the majority of the causes involving trademark infringement disputes.
Lei Jun Enters the Fray, Goneo Once "Appreciated" the Competition Focusing on the two Xiaomi-affiliated companies involved in this patent dispute.
Data shows that Xiaomi Communications Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2010. As a core operating entity of Xiaomi Group, it focuses on the research and development of smart terminal devices, communication technology services, and the sales of consumer electronics products.
Qingmi (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. is a Xiaomi ecosystem company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the New Third Board-listed company Power Future. It was established in 2014 and received tens of millions of yuan in investment from Xiaomi Group and Shunwei Capital the following year.
Since its establishment, Qingmi has been based in the electronic information industry, focusing on integrated circuits, intelligent control, signal transmission, and control. It is dedicated to the design, development, and production of smart home products.
Today, the company has over twenty SKU products, including the Xiaomi 3-Port USB Power Strip, Qingmi 5-Port USB Power Adapter, Qingmi Smart Power Strip, and car inverter power supplies.
According to Lin Haifeng, founder of Qingmi Technology, the establishment of Qingmi was a coincidence. At that time, Xiaomi wanted to use internet thinking to transform and create an ultimate power strip, while Breakthrough Electric, which held the second-largest market share in power strips, was also looking to step out of its comfort zone.
Therefore, the two parties hit it off and jointly invested to establish Qingmi Technology one month after meeting, with Lin Haifeng, the former vice president of Breakthrough Electric, serving as CEO.
On March 31, 2015, the first product fully developed by the Qingmi team over 15 months with an investment of 20 million yuan—the Xiaomi Power Strip—was officially launched.
During the Mi Fan Festival on April 8 of the same year, the Xiaomi Power Strip became an instant hit, selling 247,000 units—a sales volume that many manufacturers struggle to achieve for a single product in a year.
Two months later, sales of the Xiaomi Power Strip exceeded 1 million units. In the following year or so, tens of millions of Xiaomi Power Strips were sold, making it a veritable blockbuster product.
Lin Haifeng later reflected, "At that time, Mr. Lei's requirement was to achieve a 'magnificent' effect, so we paid great attention to various small details, even to the point of being 'nitpicky'."
With the support of the Xiaomi team and Lei Jun's vigorous promotion, this power strip became popular even before it was sold. Lin Haifeng bluntly stated, "Without Xiaomi's tens of millions of fans, it would have been impossible to sell so explosively."
The sudden emergence of the Xiaomi Power Strip acted as a "catfish," stirring up the entire power strip industry and forcing competitors to innovate and reform. Goneo was one of the players significantly impacted.
Goneo founder Ruan Liping later admitted, "We were thinking at the time, can a socket be made like this? Previously, the sockets in our impression were dumb, big, clumsy, and rough, often thrown on the floor, requiring sturdiness and durability to withstand being stepped on. But this Xiaomi socket is meant to be placed on a table, has electronic attributes, and its appearance, craftsmanship, and materials are far superior to ours."
Under this crisis, Goneo quickly convened a full management meeting to review, reflect, and formulate countermeasures. Soon after, the company launched a similar USB socket, selling it at a price one yuan lower than its competitor, thus regaining market favor.
Mentioning Xiaomi and Lei Jun, who suddenly emerged in the socket track back then, Ruan Liping once感慨 in a media interview, "A powerful opponent motivated us. Goneo Group officially transitioned from the industrial socket era to the information-based socket era."
Last Year Saw Dual Decline in Revenue and Profit; First-Quarter Performance Rebounds Although newcomers like Xiaomi occasionally disrupt the market, Goneo, as an industry leader crowned with the光环 of "the茅台 of sockets," has long maintained a dominant position in the socket/switch field.
In 2019, Goneo Group's revenue broke through the 10 billion yuan mark, with net profit attributable to shareholders reaching 2.304 billion yuan. The following year, Goneo Group successfully listed on the A-share market, and its performance has since maintained steady growth.
In a March 2024 research report, GF Securities mentioned that Goneo has long held the top market share. In 2023, Goneo continued to rank first in the ZOL Socket/Power Strip Brand Rankings with a market share of 77.2%, far surpassing its peers, demonstrating significant leading advantages and a solid position.
According to Goneo's latest annual report, based on Intelligence data, in 2025, the company's转换器, wall switch sockets, new energy vehicle charging桩, and new energy vehicle charging枪 products all ranked first in online sales on the Tmall market.
However, the stable growth trend that Goneo Group had maintained for many years came to an abrupt halt in 2025.
Financial reports show that in 2025, Goneo Group achieved annual revenue of 16.026 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.78%, and recorded net profit attributable to shareholders of 4.071 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 4.72%. This marks the first time since its listing that the company experienced a simultaneous decline in both revenue and net profit.
By product category, Goneo Group currently focuses on three main segments: electrical connection products, smart electrical and lighting products, and new energy products.
Last year, these three business segments achieved revenues of 7.077 billion yuan, 8.098 billion yuan, and 822 million yuan, with year-on-year growth rates of -7.9%, -2.8%, and +5.71%, respectively. Their gross profit margins were 41.12%, 46.29%, and 29.55%, representing increases of 0.15 percentage points and 0.11 percentage points, and a decrease of 5.26 percentage points, respectively, year-on-year.
Nevertheless, Goneo Group's cash flow performance remains positive. In 2025, net cash flow from operating activities was 4.744 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.16%. The company stated this was mainly due to an increase in advance payments received during the period.
Entering 2026, Goneo Group's performance showed signs of recovery. In the first quarter, the company achieved revenue of 4.06 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.52%, and recorded net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.058 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.55%.
On the same day the first-quarter report was released, Goneo Group also disclosed the "2025 Annual Profit Distribution Plan and Authorization for 2026 Interim Cash Dividend."
The announcement showed that in 2025, Goneo Group allocated 84.39% of its full-year net profit attributable to shareholders (i.e., 3.435 billion yuan) to reward shareholders.
In the long term, data shows that from 2019 to the present, Goneo Group's cumulative cash dividend amount has reached 16.208 billion yuan, with a dividend payout ratio as high as 67.93%.
Despite Goneo Group's frequent and substantial dividends to shareholders, the funding needs of the company's executives remain undiminished.
From October 31 to November 14 last year, Ruan Xueping, one of the company's founders, vice chairman, and actual controllers, reduced his stake in the company by approximately 36.17 million shares through block trades, cashing out a total of 1.456 billion yuan.
Furthermore, in July 2023, Ruan Xueping also reduced his stake in Goneo Group by 17.79 million shares, cashing out 1.626 billion yuan. In other words, over the past three years, Ruan Xueping has cashed out over 3 billion yuan.
Subsequent developments regarding the patent dispute between Goneo and Xiaomi will continue to be monitored.
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