The shutdown of the Tianjin factory belonging to Markor International Home Furnishings Co., Ltd., often referred to as the "first high-end home furnishings stock," continues to escalate. Recently, Markor announced the suspension of operations and production at two wholly-owned subsidiaries in Tianjin, drawing widespread market attention to its operational condition.
Some workers from the Tianjin factory revealed that they had not been paid for five months prior to the shutdown. Following the suspension, the company proposed a settlement plan: frontline workers would receive 80% of their back pay in cash and 20% in furniture, while management staff would get 60% in cash and 40% in furniture.
There have been new developments regarding the workers' efforts to claim their unpaid wages. Some workers expressed dissatisfaction with the furniture-for-salary scheme, demanding full payment in cash. One worker disclosed that recently, through a government-supervised account, Markor had settled all wage arrears for 2025, but the promised N-times severance compensation is still being pursued.
Employees attribute Markor's decline to a combination of internal and external factors. The external factor is the adjustment in the real estate market, leading to generally weak demand in the home furnishings industry. The internal factor is management. As early as 2022, Feng Lu, the founder's son, officially took over as Chairman of the company. After assuming leadership, the "second-generation" successor proposed a series of online marketing and supply chain optimization plans in an attempt to boost performance.
Judging by the current results, the efforts of this young helmsman have failed to halt the company's downward spiral. Since 2022, Markor's financial performance has sharply deteriorated, accumulating losses exceeding 1.8 billion yuan over more than three years.
Recently, Markor issued an announcement stating that its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Markor International Home Furnishings (Tianjin) Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Markor International Home Furnishings Processing (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., would suspend operations and production starting this year.
The announcement stated that the two Tianjin factories were originally export-oriented. Later, due to changes in the international trade environment, export business was transferred to factories in Vietnam, and the Tianjin facilities shifted to serving internal customers. However, affected by a combination of internal and external factors in recent years, the company incurred significant losses, with the Tianjin factories' average capacity utilization falling below 20%. This shutdown is intended to optimize idle capacity, reduce losses, and accelerate strategic transformation.
According to Tianyancha data, the combined employee count of these two factories exceeds 2,700. One worker stated that the company issued the suspension notice before the New Year and held meetings to announce the news. Among the two factories, there are many workers who have been employed for 10 or 20 years, and a significant portion are not local to Tianjin.
The worker revealed that before the suspension, employees had already been owed wages for five months. To address the wage arrears, Markor offered a cash-plus-furniture compensation scheme: 80% of the back pay for frontline workers would be paid in cash, with 20% offset by furniture sales proceeds, while the ratio for management staff would be 60% cash and 40% furniture.
However, some workers were dissatisfied with the goods-for-wages proposal and hoped for full payment in cash. The aforementioned worker said, "It wasn't until January 13th that the company settled all wage arrears for 2025 through a government-supervised account."
It was also understood that, alongside settling the wage arrears, Markor promised to pay factory employees N-times severance compensation. The worker mentioned earlier stated, "After the wages were settled, the next step is to pursue the compensation."
In fact, issues of wage arrears and layoffs at Markor are not unprecedented and are not limited to the Tianjin factory. On social media, several former Markor employees have reported unpaid wages. Some employees claimed that as early as 2024, the company began experiencing delays in salary payments, starting from initial one-week delays gradually extending to several months, with repeated promises of payment failing to materialize, ultimately triggering large-scale rights protection actions.
Public information shows that in 2000, Markor was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, becoming the "first high-end home furnishings stock," and launched the Markor brand in 2001. At its peak, Markor had over 120 stores nationwide. In 2011, Markor initiated an overseas expansion strategy, gradually expanding to the US, Europe, Australia, and other regions, with overseas business becoming a key pillar for the company.
However, since 2022, Markor's performance has sharply deteriorated, plunging into continuous losses. Financial data shows that from 2022 to 2024, the company's revenue dropped from 4.496 billion yuan to 3.395 billion yuan, and its net profit attributable to shareholders widened from a loss of 289 million yuan to a loss of 864 million yuan, accumulating losses exceeding 1.6 billion yuan over three years.
Entering 2025, the losses have not been fundamentally reversed. Revenue for the first three quarters was 2.223 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 10.10%, with a net loss attributable to shareholders of 220 million yuan, and a net loss attributable to shareholders after deducting non-recurring items reaching 450 million yuan.
Behind the performance losses lie the company's ongoing tight cash flow and deteriorating asset-liability structure. As of the end of September 2025, Markor had only 116 million yuan in cash and cash equivalents on its books, while short-term borrowings amounted to 946 million yuan, and non-current liabilities due within one year were 942 million yuan, indicating immense short-term debt pressure.
Additionally, the company has 318 million yuan in long-term borrowings. Coupled with over 1.6 billion yuan in inventory and 460 million yuan in accounts receivable occupying a large portion of current assets, this further exacerbates working capital pressure.
Markor's operational difficulties are not an isolated case but rather a microcosm of the entire home furnishings industry within the real estate adjustment cycle. In recent years, with the deep market adjustment, the home furnishings industry faces common challenges of weak demand and financial pressure, with listed companies like Oppein Home Group and Kuka Home also experiencing performance declines.
Beyond the impact of the external market environment, some Markor employees candidly stated that the aging internal management structure is a significant reason for the company's predicament. "They were slow to adapt to the changes of the new era; they can't compete with Vietnam on cost, and they can't compete with Guangdong on product renewal."
Markor has not been without attempts at reform. In 2022, Feng Lu, the founder's son, officially succeeded as Chairman, seen externally as a sign of second-generation succession aimed at promoting brand rejuvenation and digital transformation. After taking office, Feng Lu proposed a series of online marketing and supply chain optimization plans to try and revitalize performance. However, judging by the results, the efforts of this young leader have not been able to stop the company's decline.
According to data from the 2024 annual report, excluding independent directors, the chairman of the supervisory board, and supervisors, Markor has a total of 8 directors and senior managers, with an average age of approximately 49. Among them, Director Kou Weiping is the oldest at 66 years old.
In an effort to stem losses, Markor initiated a large-scale wave of store closures starting in 2023. Data shows that throughout 2024, the company closed 27 stores located in lower-tier cities or underperforming locations. In the first half of 2025, it closed 4 inefficient stores, and in the third quarter, another 9 directly operated stores were closed, totaling 40 store closures within two years, indicating a clear trend of channel contraction.
The store closures and operational difficulties have raised consumer concerns about product delivery. On complaint platforms, consumers have reported issues such as inability to ship after placing orders, delayed refunds after requests, and lack of after-sales service following store closures. One consumer stated, "Paid a 150,000 yuan deposit for home furnishings at Markor in September 2024, had over 30,000 yuan deducted for a purchase in June 2025, and still have over 20,000 yuan of the remaining 120,000 yuan deposit not refunded."
On Markor's Tmall flagship store, it was observed that many items are still listed as pre-sale and marked as shipping from Tianjin. However, customer service for the flagship store stated, "Out of stock, cannot ship." A staff member on the Markor customer service hotline admitted, "Offline stores are currently in a comprehensive clearance sale, only selling existing stock. There are almost no new, full-priced items available; some display items with flaws are offered at a discount."
Notably, at a time when external observers widely believe Markor urgently needs to cut costs for self-preservation and focus on its core business, the company has embarked on a surprising cross-sector transformation.
Recently, while disclosing the 2025 pre-loss forecast, Markor indicated that it is planning to acquire 100% of Shenzhen Wandetai Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. through a combination of share issuance and cash payment, attempting to extend from traditional home furnishings manufacturing into the AI computing power sector.
Public information shows that Wandetai specializes in the high-speed copper cable segment, with products applied in core AI computing power scenarios like server clusters and large data centers. It currently possesses an automated production line with an annual capacity of 500,000 units, and 800G/400G high-speed cable production lines are already operational. From 2023 to the first nine months of 2025, its revenue increased from 45.9772 million yuan to 76.2923 million yuan, and net profit grew from 3.9809 million yuan to 18.3491 million yuan.
Although the capital market responded positively to this transformation logic, with the company's stock price hitting the daily limit-up for four consecutive trading days after resuming trading on January 5th, this potential acquisition has also sparked significant controversy.
On one hand, the company's core business is severely loss-making, its cash flow is extremely tight, and it cannot even pay employee salaries on time. Yet, it plans to use funds for a high-risk acquisition completely unrelated to its main business, potentially further exacerbating financial pressure. On the other hand, the AI computing power sector is vastly different from the home furnishings industry. Markor lacks relevant technical expertise and operational experience, making integration highly challenging. Consequently, this acquisition is questioned by many investors as an irresponsible gamble.
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