Cotton as a Catalyst: Pandemic Star Winner Medical Lists on ChiNext with Global Ambitions

On September 17, Winner Medical (300888.SZ) officially commenced trading. The company publicly issued 50 million shares at an offering price of RMB 74.30 per share, raising a total of RMB 3.715 billion in proceeds.

Founder Li Jianquan Signs "Securities Listing Agreement"

In the first half of 2020, Winner Medical reported operating revenue of RMB 4.18 billion, a year-on-year increase of 98.52%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company amounted to RMB 1.032 billion, surging by 348.92% year on year. Excluding sales from masks and protective suits, the company’s sales revenue for the period reached RMB 2.12 billion, representing a modest year-on-year growth of 5.37%. Driven by the vision of building an international brand and unwavering confidence in China’s A-share market, Chairman Li Jianquan led Winner Medical to make a high-profile debut on the A-share capital market.

In 1989, 34-year-old Li Jianquan left the state-owned import and export company where he had worked for a decade and headed south to Zhuhai to embark on his entrepreneurial journey. “At that time, the quality of domestic medical dressings was generally poor, even being referred to as ‘rubbish’ by foreigners. This skepticism even escalated to the level of nationality and nationhood, causing a profound psychological impact. I wanted to shed this label, reshape the status of China’s medical dressing industry, and earn reputation for Chinese brands.” Two years later, Winner Medical was founded.

At that time, the domestic medical dressing sector in China could hardly be regarded as a mature industry. Its small scale was not due to limited market potential, but rather stemmed from the predicament faced by Chinese enterprises. “We were producing the most low-end raw materials and earning the thinnest profit margins. The market opportunity was vast, yet it did not belong to the Chinese,” said Li Jianquan. The mockery he endured more than three decades ago remains an indelible memory throughout his life and has become the driving force behind his entrepreneurial journey.

It is precisely this deep-rooted sense of national pride that led Li Jianquan to establish the corporate philosophy of “Quality First” from the very inception of his enterprise. “Quality takes precedence over profit, brand over speed, and social value over corporate value. These are the core principles I established in the early days of Winner Medical. Quality is the foundation of both products and the enterprise; without it, everything amounts to zero.”

Every stage, including raw material sourcing, production, testing, warehousing, and shipment, demands utmost precision and allows for no negligence. After years of dedicated effort, Winner Medical has successfully obtained key certifications such as the European CE mark, U.S. FDA approval, and certification from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. This has enabled the company to enter the high-end medical dressing markets in Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and other regions, while maintaining its position as China’s largest exporter of medical dressings for many consecutive years.

As a leading Chinese enterprise in medical dressings, Winner Medical always bears in mind the responsibilities and commitments of a national enterprise. After the SARS outbreak in 2003, when market prices for masks skyrocketed to over RMB 3 per piece, Winner Medical persisted in supplying more than 30 million masks to the market at RMB 0.55 per piece.

During the pandemic, Winner Medical’s face masks and other epidemic prevention products made significant contributions to global efforts in disease prevention and control.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Winner Medical remained at the forefront of the fight against the virus. From proactively anticipating the epidemic and canceling Spring Festival holidays to rapidly deploying support to Wuhan, the main battleground, and from precisely contributing to pandemic control to safeguarding the health of the Chinese people, Winner Medical has consistently upheld its mission of “overcoming difficulties together,” extending its efforts from China to the rest of the world. Between January 1 and May 31, 2020, Winner Medical supplied a total of nearly 600 million masks, as well as nearly 6.5 million sets of protective gowns and surgical gowns, among other protective products, to society.

“As a company based right here in Hubei, if we don’t take the lead, who will step up to contribute?” This was the rallying cry sounded by Chairman Li Jianquan within Winner Medical at the outset of the pandemic, embodying the significant responsibility shouldered by small masks.

The Birth of Purcotton: Li Jianquan Jokingly Describes It as “An Unintended Success.” “The medical dressing industry has long been plagued by a persistent problem: traditional medical gauze tends to shed fibers, which can lead to wound infections. After three years of research and development, we successfully created 100% cotton spunlace nonwoven fabric. However, reality was harsh; without established medical standards, this 100% cotton spunlace nonwoven fabric could not enter the medical field at all.”

In 2009, Purcotton launched its first products, five years after the advent of all-cotton spunlace nonwoven fabric technology and following cumulative investments amounting to hundreds of millions of yuan. The brand opened 90 stores within four years, incurring losses exceeding RMB 200 million; its e-commerce pilot in Beijing also resulted in losses of more than RMB 20 million. This was no easy feat for Winner Medical. Moreover, Winner Medical started from scratch in terms of consumer-facing (C-end) brand operations.

Li Jianquan personally spearheaded brand building and developed e-commerce channels, finally securing a foothold in the fiercely competitive consumer goods sector. In 2014, Purcotton achieved overall profitability for the first time, with revenue reaching RMB 340 million.

In 2019, Purcotton’s sales of daily consumer goods surpassed RMB 3 billion, establishing it as a flagship domestic brand among high-quality Chinese consumer brands. Last October, Purcotton was honored with the “70 Brands for the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of New China” award, presented by CCTV. Purcotton’s product portfolio has also expanded to include hygiene and care products such as cotton facial tissues and cotton diapers, as well as gauze-series baby clothing and home textile products.

Purcotton, founded 11 years ago, has become a national brand

More importantly, Purcotton has single-handedly made cotton—the finest, most breathable, safest, and most sustainable natural fiber—synonymous with health, environmental friendliness, and fashion. After Winner Medical developed the spunlace nonwoven fabric technology using 100% cotton, it triggered a significant market impact, prompting numerous brands to follow suit. In 2019, Purcotton’s sales of pure cotton soft towels reached RMB 937 million. A search for “cotton soft towels” on online platforms such as Taobao and Tmall yielded more than ten brands.

According to statistics from the China Nonwovens Industry Association, China had only 26 production lines for 100% cotton spunlace nonwoven fabrics in 2015. By 2018, this number had risen to 45 lines, with a total annual capacity reaching 110,000 metric tons. This substantial market demand has also spurred rapid growth in China’s cotton cultivation area. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that cotton production in China’s Xinjiang region increased from 3.503 million metric tons in 2015 to 5.002 million metric tons in 2019, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.31%.

Currently, Winner Medical employs nearly 10,000 people, creating a substantial number of jobs in Wuhan, Huanggang, Jiayu, and other regions across Hubei Province. Meanwhile, the rapid expansion of cotton cultivation areas has provided cotton farmers with opportunities to increase their income. “It is deeply rewarding to enable more people to share in the fruits of Winner Medical’s growth. Only by benefiting more people can we truly ‘change the world with cotton,’” said Li Jianquan with pride.

Chairman Li Jianquan has repeatedly stated publicly, “The essence of business is altruism. Only by continuously gaining insights into and meeting consumer needs, and delivering value to consumers and society, can a company remain invincible. Guided by the principles of naturalness, health, and environmental protection, we are committed to continuously fulfilling Chinese consumers’ pursuit of a higher quality of life and driving industry progress—this is the enduring mission of Winner Medical.”

Purcotton Life to Support Winner Medical’s Entry into the Trillion-Yuan “Big Health” Market

In 2018, Winner Medical targeted consumer demands and launched PureH2B, a health and beauty lifestyle platform centered on service and experience. Subsequently, PureH2B stores opened in Wuhan International Plaza, Wuhan Tiandi Yifang City, and Shenzhen Zhuoyue Center. With eight specialized product zones covering beauty, fragrance, personal care, food, health, home, fitness, and beverages, PureH2B empowers individuals to easily embark on a healthy and beautiful lifestyle.

To date, Winner Medical has evolved into a healthcare enterprise centered on “cotton,” featuring two major brands—“Winner” and “Purcotton”—along with the PureH2B platform for healthy and beautiful living. By achieving synergistic development across its medical and consumer segments, the company meets consumers’ multi-scenario, systematic health needs for both medical and home use, comprehensively covering health and beauty lifestyle scenarios and making a strong entry into the trillion-yuan “big health” consumer market.

In the field of medical dressings, Winner Medical continues to refine its product portfolio, having launched representative high-end dressing products such as silicone foam dressings, hydrocolloid dressings, super-absorbent pads, and negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) products, with its technological capabilities ranking among the industry’s leaders. In the future, it will continue to lead Chinese enterprises in navigating the global medical dressing market, which exceeds USD 10 billion in value.

In the consumer goods sector, Purcotton has established a comprehensive solution centered on replacing synthetic fibers with cotton to minimize chemical irritation. This portfolio spans non-woven consumer products—such as pure cotton soft tissues, all-cotton surface sanitary pads, and pure cotton wet wipes—as well as maternal and infant products, infant and children’s apparel, and adult clothing. Winner Medical’s advocacy for substituting synthetic fiber products with all-cotton alternatives, thereby shielding consumers from chemical irritants and reducing environmental pollution, aligns perfectly with both consumer demand for natural products and national support for the “Big Health” initiative. As China’s cotton product enterprises and cotton planting areas expand rapidly, the trend of “Cotton Changes the World” has become unstoppable.

Winner Medical is undoubtedly one of the most prominent listed companies this year. However, for all its employees, everything is just beginning; it is merely a new start. Through three decades of effort, Winner Medical has built a large health industry portfolio covering both the medical and consumer sectors, with enormous market potential. The A-share capital market will surely empower Winner Medical’s three major brands—Winner Medical, Purcotton, and PureH2B—to align with industry development trends and embark on a new chapter in their journey of “Cotton Changing the World.”