LeadShow acquires Leader Metal. The strong combination of two Zhongshan large enterprises

On the afternoon of November 23^rd, Mr. Wei Laijin, Chairman of Guangodng LeadShow Display Products Co Ltd (LeadShow), who now owns 51% of Leader Metal Industries Co Ltd (Leader Metal), made his first public appearance at the transit ceremony and addressed Leader Metal employees. Mr. Wei boosted the morale of employees by saying, “Today we witness together the beginning of a new journey. LeadShow and Leader join hands with the shared vision of becoming leaders in the market segments we serve and becoming outstanding partners for our brand customers. We will prove our outstanding capabilities by delivering actual results, and we believe the companies can do even better after the transition”

Leader Metal, founded in Taiwan in the 1980s, has four decades of metal products experience. Leader Metal moved to Zhongshan in 1989 and was acquired by The Marmon Group (one of the largest private companies in the US) in 2001. Over the years, Leader Metal served and became a key supplier for international brands like B/S/H/, GE Appliances, Whirlpool, Electrolux, IKEA, Walmart, McDonald's, Midea, and Haier.

Marmon started looking for buyers to acquire the Leader Metal business in 2019. In 2020, Marmon agreed to sell the entire business, including assets and liabilities, to Guangdong LeadShow Display Products Co Ltd (51% ownership) and Zhongshan Junxiang Industrial Investment Co Ltd (49% ownership). LeadShow, the majority shareholder, will take charge of managing Leader Metal’s business.

Wuguishan is a natural preservation zone and the local government has been investing in infrastructure to develop the local economy. The Tanzhou expressway will be ready next year, which will bring Wuguishan to a new era of development. At this very point, LeadShow, being the leader in the display fixture market segment, invested in Wuguishan at a good time. Both LeadShow and Leader Metal have more than CNY100million annual turnover, the strong combination of the two companies will fuel more energy to the growth.

Aiming dishwasher rack market, LeadShow expands its business

Leader Metal’s main products include dishwasher racks, ref rig shelves, oven racks, nylon-coated accessories, powder-coated products, plated products, and stainless steel products. The estimated turnover in 2020 is around CNY 200 million. 

Mr. Wei said, “We bought over the entire business from a US shareholder; besides patriotism, we think Leader Metal itself is a good business with a promising future”. Based on market intelligence, the penetration rate of dishwashers in developed countries reaches 70%, while it’s less than 3% in China. The dishwasher market has been growing at 50%+ over the past two years and still has substantial growth potential.

Walking into the intelligent metal workshop, batches of dishwasher racks that can resist high temperature and corrosion are produced from production lines. Being a key component of the dishwasher, it is known that the durability and reliability of racks will determine the performance of the dishwasher, as the racks need to endure the high temperature and high water pressure in the machine.

“In the supply chain for dishwasher, next to the control panel, dishwasher rack is the 2^nd most important element.  We think the dishwasher is a promising market, Leader Metal’s rack business is a good business, and Leader Metal’s team is an outstanding term who has rich management experience and deep technology knowledge.” Mr. Wei said, “w  believe it’s a strong combination enhancement of business resources rather than a simple acquisition.”

“Leader Metal has been B/S/H/ China’s dishwasher rack supplier. In B/S/H/ China dishwasher factory, a new dishwasher is produced every 30 seconds. That means Leader Metal, being a core supplier, needs to deliver on time at the right quality to ensure uptime of the production line.” Said Mr. Sam Guo, Managing Director for Leader Metal. Leader Metal is the pioneer in Asia to develop and produce dishwasher racks.

 Strong integration of display fixture businesses

Guangdong LeadShow Display Products Co Ltd specializes in customized design, manufacturing display fixtures, and delivering one-stop store opening service to top five customers in vertical markets like cosmetics, consumer electronics, retail chains, etc. With nearly twenty years rooted in the fixture display industry, LeadShow has become an ‘invisible champion’ in the fixture display segment and serves big names like Huawei.

 Ms. Zhang Yang, Director of the Chairman’s office, said, “LeadShow now has an annual turnover of 600 million CY. We are the largest supplier of Huawei display fixtures, in addition, we serve more than 200 brands like Xiaomi, JD, Dajiang, H&M, Coca-cola, etc. We are in the frontier of this market segment”

Leader Metal, a whole-owned-by-foreign-enterprise before the acquisition, specializes in the design, manufacture, and market of metal products, which include dishwasher racks and standard retail shelving. Leader Metal’s shelving business had its reputation in the industry and served global customers like Walmart, Tesco, Watson's and Miniso, etc. “LeadShow and Leader Metal have similar operating models in the display fixture industry, LeadShow focuses more on design customization and turn-key service, while Leader Metal focuses more on manufacturing of standard retail shelves. The strong combination of both companies and the synergy will allow us to provide better display solutions for our customers” said Ms. Zhang Yang.

 By Nan Fang Daily Reporter Zeng YanChun, Chen JieTing