Bodal's ¥1bn Tmall store closed in a night when the brand split with its operator

Bodal built a skincare brand around super-molecular salicylic acid, reaching ¥1bn in annual GMV and selling its star salicylic mask to ¥300m a year, used by 700+ public hospitals and 2,000+ private clinics. The brand married its operator in 2014: co-founder Zhong Jinlu's company Shangya (瑞志) ran distribution under an exclusive, no-term licence, and in 2018 a 30% stake was transferred to the founder in exchange for that licence.

On December 20, 2024 the founder Lü Shaoxiang sent a notice in the shareholders' WeChat group, unilaterally ending the partnership and cancelling Shangya's authorisation. The Tmall flagship store closed in early February 2025, and Shangya said it was shutting down with all staff released. Zhong's public complaint accused Lü of 'kicking the donkey once the mill stops' after Shangya had spent tens of millions on clinical research and hundreds of millions on science outreach.

The collapse was front-page for beauty e-commerce: 'Bodal closes its store' topped social-list hot searches in late February 2025. The brand's own store entities relaunched under '重新启航' (setting sail again), but the disruption left agents and livestream anchors without stock for months and the flagship channel damaged.