In recent days, the news of the 53-year-old boss of the well-known Chinese decoration company “Beautiful Home”, Zeng Yuzhou, tragically committing suicide by jumping from a building has caused significant shockwaves in the industry and society. Zeng, who was known as the “Decoration Principal” and a pioneer in the industry, ultimately couldn’t withstand the harsh winter of the real estate market. His unexpected passing not only led to the immediate shutdown of hundreds of chain stores but also resulted in massive amounts of renovation funds from thousands of homeowners going adrift, salaries of all employees left unpaid, and the accumulated years of countless suppliers turning to nothing, leaving a scene of devastation.
On the early morning of July 17th, Zeng Yuzhou, a prominent entrepreneur in Guangzhou, jumped from a tall building and tragically passed away despite rescue efforts being unsuccessful. The police believe that the fall may be related to personal factors.
According to public information, Zeng Yuzhou founded “Beautiful Home” in 2001 and with its early “all-inclusive renovation” model, he became a mainstream figure in the industry, earning the titles of “Decoration Principal” and “Decoration Guru”.
At its peak, Beautiful Home had 160 stores with accumulated services to over 550,000 households.
However, after Zeng Yuzhou’s untimely death, the home decoration chain he built single-handedly plunged into a severe crisis the very next day. On July 18th, the company suddenly issued a “closure notice”, citing the impact of the downturn in the real estate industry and long-term losses, stating it was unable to sustain operations and would cooperate with bankruptcy liquidation procedures. Multiple stores were closed with renovation materials still visible through the door cracks, but no sign of employees.
Subsequently, Chinese media interviewed mid-level management personnel from the company, who confirmed the closure and mentioned that even profitable stores were uniformly shut down.
Observer Net reported that due to the sudden incident, matters concerning Zeng Yuzhou’s aftermath are still being handled.
This large enterprise covering areas like Guangzhou, Foshan, and radiating across the Pearl River Delta region suddenly became paralyzed, with over a hundred closed stores, each having an average area of over a thousand square meters and employing numerous staff.
The sudden shutdown of Beautiful Home swiftly triggered a chain reaction, leaving many victims in despair. Many consumers took to the internet to complain about their tragic experiences. One netizen claimed to have prepaid nearly RMB 100,000, only to find out that the renovation had not started, and the company suddenly collapsed.
Another netizen exposed that a friend had purchased a villa and pre-paid RMB 250,000 for renovation, but before the completion of the renovation, the company closed down.
Pengpai News reported an incident in March-April where Mr. Li’s parents signed a renovation contract with Beautiful Home’s Huadu store in Guangzhou, paying RMB 140,000. The initial renovation went smoothly, but on July 18th, workers suddenly received a work stoppage notice. Mr. Li’s parents rushed to the store for negotiation, only to find over 20 others there for similar reasons.
Before the closure, Beautiful Home had long been withholding employees’ salaries. A netizen in the comments section revealed that their father had worked on five to six houses for the company last year, but the payment was never received. After repeated requests, the company only provided a few thousand yuan as living expenses, leaving nearly RMB 100,000 unpaid. Upon learning of the boss’s suicide, the netizen’s parents returned home in tears.
Currently, many homeowners have come to Beautiful Home’s premises seeking justice, hoping to recover some of their losses.
Comparatively, while employee salaries are a concern, the losses for suppliers and customers are even more severe. Due to prolonged operational losses, Beautiful Home had accumulated substantial debts with major material suppliers; some debts were in the range of millions. Several suppliers stated their payments were overdue. A subcontracting project manager disclosed that the company was supposed to settle the project payment within 18 days, but it remained unpaid for up to six months, even until its closure.
Customers are livid as many have already paid the full renovation cost or a deposit, but now with the company shutting down, construction teams have halted work. Many families had moved out of their original residences to rented accommodations for the renovation; now with work discontinued, they are stuck in a dilemma of “can’t move into new house, yet have to pay rent.”
Additionally, some have exposed severe delays within the company; some customers have paid 95% of the renovation cost but only have half the project completed, estimating losses of up to RMB 100,000.
According to Daily Economic News, Beautiful Home’s headquarters is in Zhujiang New Town Poli Kloklovicz Central Building in Tianhe District, Guangzhou. On the morning of July 19th, numerous consumers and suppliers had gathered downstairs to inquire about the situation, only to find the company’s doors tightly shut.
On July 20th, the police responded to victims, stating Zeng Yuzhou’s death wouldn’t affect subsequent contract disputes or debts. Victims could register relevant information at the police station or file lawsuits for justice.
Zeng Yuzhou’s tragedy once again brings the enormous pressures and survival challenges faced by private Chinese entrepreneurs to the forefront. The public is closely following and discussing this incident.
Blogger “Big Fish Simplified Science” commented that the cooling of the Chinese real estate market has turned the decoration industry into a “winter coat for shelter,” and now, even the makers of this “coat” are on the verge of freezing.
Blogger “Brother Blade” bluntly stated, “Recently, the authorities have introduced a series of economic rescue policies. If there was hope in the future, would Zeng Yuzhou have jumped off a building? If he could see hope, he might have persisted a bit longer.” He believes Zeng Yuzhou must have realized the company’s irreversible situation before choosing the extreme act.
It is worth noting that similar suicide incidents involving prominent entrepreneurs have not been isolated this year.
In April, Bi Guangjun, the boss of Shaoxing Jindianzi Textile Technology Company, resolutely jumped from the 28th floor.
In June, Liu Wenchao, the CEO of Xizi Elevator Technology Co., Ltd., committed suicide by jumping from a building at the age of 54.
In June, Shen Kangming, a 54-year-old director at Zhejiang Construction, died from falling off a building.
These tragedies undoubtedly question the tremendous pressures and hardships that current private entrepreneurs in China are undergoing. “Some say that the destiny of private entrepreneurs is to become defaulters because a slight misstep could mean a total loss. They carry not only the livelihoods of their employees but also the country’s GDP on their shoulders,” urged Blogger “Brother Blade,” calling for society to show more understanding and space for these entrepreneurs to breathe.
Behind the “tragedy” of these private entrepreneurs lies the overall downturn of the Chinese economy and the severe overcapacity dilemma in the manufacturing industry. While some stock investors remain optimistic about the macroeconomy, “Brother Blade” cautioned that there exist many “structural gaps” unseen by the general public. He pointed out that state-owned enterprises and listed companies are also facing significant pressure, albeit less known.
He emphasized that in China’s economic “turbulent and contracting process,” policies like “anti-internal circulation optimization” have placed particularly enormous pressure on small private enterprises. This is not a new phenomenon; in the past, during the process of “eliminating excess capacity” in industries like photovoltaics, many private enterprises were eliminated. He explained that as the government drives “access thresholds” or “licensing systems,” it becomes a cruel “clearing out excess capacity” for lower-level enterprises — forcing inefficient or financially strained businesses to shut down or transform, reducing overall excessive production capacity.
This indicates that the country’s economic recovery is not pursued at “all costs” but through necessary painful “birth pains.” Although the cleansing of lower-level production capacity is cruel and painful, it is a price the economic body has to pay during the adjustment process. In addition, recent adjustments by the financial industry regarding small private banks have made loans to these enterprises even more challenging, further exacerbating the tension in the financial chain.
This “winter” spreading across various industries like decorations and manufacturing is a severe test of the survival resilience of Chinese private enterprises and has raised deep concerns in society about future economic trends and the fate of entrepreneur groups.