Analysis of the Possibility of Huahan Co.'s Hierarchical Chain Model Replicating Aier Ophthalmology's Success

Based on the collected information, I will systematically analyze whether Huahan Co.'s hierarchical chain model can replicate Aier Ophthalmology’s success.

Indicator	Huahan Co.	Aier Ophthalmology
Listing Location	New Third Board	A-share (GEM)
Core Business	Medical Cosmetology	Ophthalmology Medical Services
Market Cap Scale	About 2.5 billion yuan	About 101.75 billion yuan
Number of Stores (2025H1)	30 (18 hospitals +12 clinics)	595 (355 hospitals +240 clinics)
2024 Revenue (Estimated)	About 850 million yuan	About 23.2 billion yuan

There is a huge gap in scale between Huahan Co. and Aier Ophthalmology, equivalent to an approximately 27-fold revenue gap [0][1][2].

As of the first half of 2025, Huahan Co. has 30 medical cosmetology institutions in 7 provinces, and its hierarchical chain model has taken initial shape [1][3]. Huahan’s hierarchical chain mainly relies on:

1. Flagship Hospital
   : Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Friendship Plastic Surgery Hospital (core brand)
2. Regional Hospital
   : Replicating the management model and technical standards of Friendship Hospital
3. Clinic Outlets
   : Pilot projects in Yangzhou, Changzhou, etc., for rapid replication in Jiangsu Province

Since tracking in 2021, Huahan’s stores have expanded from 8 to 30, and its cross-regional replication capability has been verified [1]. Huahan disclosed in its 2024 annual report that “12 branches contributed 191 million yuan in operating revenue, an increase of 27.53 million yuan year-on-year, a growth rate of 16.78%”, while the revenue of the flagship hospital decreased by 5.43% year-on-year [1].

1. Standardized Replication Capability
   : All hospitals replicate the management model and technical standards of Nanjing University Friendship Hospital
2. Brand Trust Building
   : Building a management system in accordance with the National Health Commission’s medical quality control regulations and the China Association of Plastic Surgery’s 5A evaluation standards
3. Countercyclical Expansion Capability
   : Rapid self-built expansion during the economic downturn indicates sufficient talent reserves

Aier Ophthalmology’s hierarchical chain model is its core competitive advantage, mainly reflected in:

Model Element	Specific Content
Hierarchy Design	Four-level network of “central city flagship hospital—provincial capital hospital—prefectural city hospital—county hospital”
Resource Allocation	Technical support from upper-level hospitals to lower-level hospitals, expert visits, two-way referral of patients
Scale Effect	After the expansion of the medical network scale, the advantages of hierarchical chain and scale effect are significantly显现 [4]
Global Resource Sharing	Sharing global ophthalmology wisdom to achieve “three synchronizations” of medical technology, equipment, drugs and international standards [4]

The key reason for the success of Aier Ophthalmology’s hierarchical chain is the synchronous construction of its management system and medical education research platform. A good medical education research platform can realize talent delivery, professional title promotion and scientific research output; a good management system can ensure reasonable interest distribution and reward/punishment mechanisms [5].

Capability Dimension	Huahan Co.	Aier Ophthalmology	Gap Analysis
Hierarchical Chain Maturity	★★★☆☆	★★★★★	Scale gap of about 20 times
Brand Trust	★★★☆☆	★★★★★	Needs long-term accumulation
Medical Education Research Platform	★★☆☆☆	★★★★★	Huge gap
Cross-regional Replication Capability	★★★★☆	★★★★★	Verified by Huahan
Global Resource Linkage	★★☆☆☆	★★★★★	Almost blank

There are essential differences between the medical cosmetology industry and ophthalmology medical services:

• Penetration Rate
  : China’s medical cosmetology penetration rate is less than 5%, far lower than the popularity of ophthalmology medical services [1]
• Industry Norm
  : The medical cosmetology industry is chaotic, with bad money driving out good money, and low consumer trust
• Rigid Demand
  : Ophthalmology medical services are rigid demands, while medical cosmetology is optional consumption with large demand fluctuations

As a New Third Board company, Huahan Co. has a huge gap with Aier Ophthalmology in terms of capital strength, brand influence, talent attraction, etc.:

Resource Dimension	Huahan Co.	Aier Ophthalmology
Capital Strength	Weak (limited financing channels)	Strong (capital market support)
Brand Influence	Regional	National + Global
Talent Attraction	Limited	Strong (medical education research platform)

Huahan Co. is obviously behind Aier Ophthalmology in the construction of medical education research platforms. The medical education research platform is the core support for the operation of the hierarchical chain, including [5]:

• Physician training system
• Academic research platform
• Clinical research transformation capability
• Professional title promotion channel

Huahan’s accumulation in these aspects is still very weak.

Although Huahan’s cross-regional replication in Jiangsu Province has been successful, cross-provincial replication still faces challenges. The failure case of Tongce Medical in省外 replication shows that cross-regional replication of the hierarchical chain model is extremely difficult [1][5].

1. Strategic Value of Hainan Huahan
   : Huahan can link global medical cosmetology resources through Hainan to introduce advanced technologies and products [1]
2. Consumption Recovery Expectation
   : Once the large consumption rebounds, the demand for medical cosmetology will rebound quickly
3. Industry Integration Opportunity
   : Under the chaos of the medical cosmetology industry, compliant and high-quality enterprises are expected to gain market share

1. Brand Trust Needs Accumulation
   : The establishment of brand trust in the medical cosmetology industry requires a long process
2. Talent Competition Pressure
   : High-quality medical cosmetology talents are scarce, and talent costs are high
3. Capital Bottleneck
   : Limited financing capacity of the New Third Board restricts expansion speed
4. Policy Uncertainty
   : Regulatory policies in the medical cosmetology industry may change

Evaluation Dimension	Score (5-point scale)	Explanation
Hierarchical Chain Model Maturity	3.0	Verified but small scale
Brand Trust Building	2.5	Needs long-term investment
Medical Education Research Platform Construction	2.0	Obvious weakness
Cross-regional Replication Capability	3.5	Verified by Huahan
Global Resource Linkage	2.0	Just started layout
Comprehensive Replication Possibility	2.6	Medium-low

Huahan Co.'s hierarchical chain model has been initially validated in Jiangsu Province and has certain cross-regional replication capabilities, but compared to Aier Ophthalmology’s successful model, there is still a huge gap. To replicate Aier Ophthalmology’s success, Huahan Co. faces the following core challenges:

1. Scale Gap
   : Huahan’s 30 stores vs Aier’s 595 stores (about 20 times gap)
2. Brand Trust
   : Under the chaos of the medical cosmetology industry, consumer trust takes longer to establish
3. Medical Education Research Platform
   : This is the core competitiveness of Aier Ophthalmology, and Huahan is obviously behind
4. Capital Strength
   : The financing capacity of the New Third Board company is far inferior to that of A-share companies

, Huahan Co. is expected to become a regional medical cosmetology chain leader, but , to grow into the “Aier Ophthalmology of medical cosmetology”, it needs continuous investment in brand trust, medical education research platform, global resource linkage, etc., and needs capital market support to accelerate expansion.

The particularity of the medical cosmetology industry (low penetration rate, industry chaos, regulatory uncertainty) determines that it is much more difficult for Huahan Co. to replicate Aier Ophthalmology’s model than the ophthalmology industry. Whether Huahan can succeed depends on whether it can establish differentiated competitive advantages in industry integration and whether it can obtain sufficient capital support to achieve scale expansion.

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[0] Gilin API Financial Data - Aier Ophthalmology Financial Analysis (https://www.gilin-ai.com)

[1] Value Office - “20 Years Ago, Aier Ophthalmology’s Market Cap Was So Low! Diamond-level Track Leader, Absolute 100x Potential” (https://www.163.com/dy/article/KIA1AHHF0556DQCD.html)

[2] Gilin API Market Data - Aier Ophthalmology Stock Price and Market Cap (https://www.gilin-ai.com)

[3] Value Office - “Huahan’s Trump Card” (https://www.163.com/dy/article/KIA1AHHF0556DQCD.html)

[4] Aier Ophthalmology Official Website - “Innovation Leads High-quality Development, Aier Ophthalmology Ranks Among ‘China’s Top 500 Service Enterprises’ Five Times” (https://www.aierchina.com/mobile/jituanxinwen/1089.html)

[5] Value Office - “Diamonds Falling from the Sky, Like Moutai, A Big White Horse That Doesn’t Need to Worry About, Has Fallen for 5 Consecutive Years!” (https://www.163.com/dy/article/KI7EROUB0556DQCD.html)