From a Marble Upstart to a Limestone Leader: Tracing the Two-Decade Transformation of a Stone Enterprise

Reposted from China Daily

As limestone takes center stage in 2026, Chaoshi Group—a company with two decades of deep roots in the stone industry—has emerged as a frontrunner in this niche segment. Transitioning from marble to limestone, pioneering a supermarket-chain distribution model, and securing upstream access to scarce mineral resources, this relatively young enterprise has executed a strategic leap built on a solid foundation of industry know-how. Recently, Xie Zhilai, Chairman of Chaoshi Group, sat down for an exclusive interview to unpack the thinking and strategic moves behind this transformation.

From Egyptian Beige to Bulgarian Vratsa : A Two-Decade Affair with "Beige" Hues

Founded in Shanghai in 2005, with a simultaneous branch office established in Cairo, Egypt, Chaoshi Group began as an imported marble specialist integrating mining, fabrication, and sales. In its early years, the company's product portfolio centered on the Egyptian beige series, covering a wide range of beige-toned marble varieties including Egyptian beige, Gold Line beige, Golden Glory, and New Ximi. On the manufacturing front, the company was quick to set up multiple proprietary processing bases in Egypt—including Fuli Marble Factory, Xueman Marble Factory, and Chaoshi Marble Factory—building a stable overseas processing capacity. To ensure smooth cross-border logistics and cost control, the group also established Winner Shipping Co., Ltd. in Egypt, maintaining a standing inventory throughput of over 2,000 containers per month at the shipping terminal—a logistical backbone that guaranteed uninterrupted supply to the domestic market.

From a chromatic standpoint, Egyptian beige shares a natural visual continuity with the limestone that Chaoshi Group would later pivot to—both are defined by warm, beigey yellow tones. Xie Zhilai noted that this "genetic heritage" in color palette gave the company a natural product-recognition advantage when transitioning from marble to limestone, in terms of both design language and aesthetic sensibility. "The connection we forged with 'beige' two decades ago laid the groundwork for our deep dive into limestone today."

From 98 Stone Supermarket to Limestone: A Well-Prepared Pivot

In 2014, Chaoshi Group launched "Chaoshi 98 Stone Supermarket," pioneering a new retail model in the stone industry featuring chain-store operations with clearly marked prices. Against the backdrop of an industry long characterized by opaque pricing and non-standardized services, this model sent shockwaves through the market. To date, 98 Stone Supermarket has grown to nearly 20 chain stores across China, covering all major stone markets nationwide. In an industry where few marble brands have achieved national chain-store scale with transparent pricing, this remains a distinctive differentiator.

When asked why the company chose to venture into the limestone sector after achieving remarkable success in marble, Xie Zhilai emphasized that this was no accident. "Many see us as newcomers to the field, but in reality, the confidence and capability we've built in the stone industry over the years give us the poise to enter any niche segment." The core rationale behind the limestone pivot was to "keep pace with the times." His assessment was based on three trends: first, overseas infrastructure markets in high-demand regions maintain a sustained and stable preference for beige-toned stone, providing a considerable export demand base for limestone; second, the widespread adoption of limestone as exterior cladding in China's fourth-generation residential buildings is unlocking clear incremental market space; and third, shifting consumer preferences among younger generations have expanded limestone's application scenarios from traditional curtain-wall cladding to interior design and decorative surfacing, steadily broadening its usage boundaries.

"The success of 98 Stone Supermarket gave us a profound understanding of the power of distribution channels and brand value," said Xie Zhilai. "When we decided to enter the limestone space, that mature supply chain system and channel network became our core competitive advantage right out of the gate." By 2026, Chaoshi Group's brand recognition in the stone sector had risen to among the industry's top tier, and within the limestone segment specifically, it had become one of the most closely watched names.

Mines and Factories: Building Resource and Manufacturing Moats Simultaneously

In 2026, Chaoshi Group made a series of heavyweight moves in the limestone sector, demonstrating strong strategic resolve. The group has adopted a full-category operating strategy in the limestone segment. Beyond owning the proprietary rights to its Bulgarian Vratsa and Venato mines, the company also leverages two decades of deep partnerships with over 30 mines across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to build a stable global supply network. Backed by this robust resource system, Chaoshi Group has systematically secured access to scarce quarries for products such as Portugal Beige, Moca Cream, Turkish Limra, Riyadh Limestone, Myra Beige, Gohare Limestone, Chauvigny Limestone, Albania Stone, Croatia Limestone, and Pakistan Beige—among others. With consistent color control and competitive cost performance, the group has become a global benchmark supplier for these stones, ensuring stable inventory levels across all categories. Industry data suggests that within China's limestone market segment, Chaoshi Group is one of the enterprises with the broadest category coverage, the largest standing inventory, and a leading market share. In the exterior marble and limestone arena, its first-mover advantage and sustained investment have erected considerable scale-based barriers.

On the resource front, in 2026 Chaoshi Group secured exclusive rights to a top-tier Bulgarian Vratsa quarry in Bulgaria and rebranded it as the Chaoshi Mine. This mining right had long drawn keen interest from international stone traders, and its acquisition by a Chinese company is seen within the industry as a significant milestone for Chinese stone enterprises on the high-end stone resource map. It also speaks to Chaoshi Group's deep-seated capabilities in resource integration and operational management.

Yet, while the resource-side headlines are eye-catching, the upgrades on the manufacturing side may carry more long-term competitive significance. In production, Chaoshi Group has invested heavily in cross-generational equipment upgrades. The company's stone factory is one of the earliest limestone plants in the industry to introduce wire-saw technology. The newly installed high-spec wire saws deliver significantly improved cutting precision and efficiency over traditional frame-saw processes, featuring narrower kerfs, lower material loss, and superior surface flatness. This move has fundamentally disrupted conventional cutting-saw techniques and laid a solid foundation for subsequent precision secondary processing. Chaoshi Group boasts comprehensive fabrication capabilities covering slabs, thin panels, finished components, custom shapes, and water-jet carving—enabling flexible responses to large-scale supply demands for major curtain-wall and residential exterior projects. The company has demonstrated consistent performance in high-volume commercial cladding, French-style villas, luxury hotels, and cultural-tourism public buildings, both in exterior curtain-wall applications and interior fit-outs, while also excelling in fine-craftsmanship work such as custom carvings and antique moldings.

Notably, at a time when the global luxury industry shows strong preference for marble and onyx, Chaoshi Group has taken a decisive step forward. Leveraging its rigorous color control, processing precision, and stable quality-management systems, it has successfully supplied custom exterior-wall materials to international luxury brands in the Hong Kong SAR and German markets—bringing Chinese-processed limestone into the rarefied world of global luxury.

Chaoshi Group even appeared at an academic lecture on geotechnical engineering and rock mechanics held in Hong Kong SAR earlier this year. "As a stone company participating in academic forums, this reflects our determination to go further," said Xie. Moreover, to tackle the real-world challenge of weatherability in limestone applications, the company proactively broke down technical silos by recruiting university graduates for in-depth industry-university-research collaboration and establishing the Zhouyu Laboratory. The lab conducts joint research on freeze-thaw resistance, wet-dry cycling, and other extreme-environment performance tests on natural stone, alongside rock-mechanics studies. At the same time, Chaoshi Group partnered with a Bulgarian laboratory to conduct systematic testing on the physical-mechanical properties and mineralogical composition of natural stone—covering key indicators such as Young's modulus, uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), moisture content, water absorption, and abrasion resistance—combined with quantitative chemical analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) mineral-phase characterization, constructing a complete data chain from microstructure to macro-performance. These rigorous scientific findings provide hard-core support for long-term product stability and extreme-climate adaptability, fundamentally reinforcing the quality assurance behind Chaoshi's high-end exterior applications. In an industry where only a handful of stone companies are willing to invest in basic data research, this conscious shift from experience-driven to data-driven decision-making also reflects a deeper transformation in Chaoshi's self-positioning—no longer content with the role of a stone trader, but striving to become a stone manufacturing service provider underpinned by technological R&D and scientific data.

In terms of industrial footprint, Chaoshi Group has established its headquarters in Nantong, Jiangsu, and operates three major production hubs—the Fujian Shuitou Base and the Guangdong Yunfu Base—forming a scaled processing cluster. Among these, the Shuitou factory in Fujian serves as the industrial core, not only as the group's primary production center by shipment volume but also as a key export gateway for international orders. Shuitou, as China's—and the world's—largest stone distribution and processing hub, concentrates world-class industrial resources, and Chaoshi Group's Shuitou factory maintains leading shipment scales even within this densely competitive industrial cluster, making it one of the most prominent benchmark production and processing bases in the limestone category in terms of both capacity and export capability. Complementing this, the group's nationwide network of 98 Stone Supermarkets and Chaoshi Hui outlets serves as front-end sales touchpoints, deeply engaging regional markets and project demands—truly achieving full-chain coverage from quarry source to centralized processing to end-user service.

Looking Ahead: Taking Chinese Limestone to the World

From the Egyptian beige starting point in 2005, to the channel innovation of 98 Stone Supermarket in 2014, to the strategic resource acquisition of the top-tier Bulgarian quarry in 2026, Chaoshi Group has spent two decades charting a path from trade-focused operations to an integrated "resources + manufacturing + distribution" model.

Throughout the interview, when fielding questions about market competition, Xie Zhilai repeatedly emphasized one refrain: "Only businesses fail; industries never die." In his view, the industry will always exist—the key lies in whether a company can find its place amid change. In the rapidly heating limestone segment, the group's approach follows a clear, progressive logic: first, lean on channel expertise as a foundation; second, build defensive moats with scarce resources; and third, accumulate strength through manufacturing upgrades. Industry observers note that this measured cadence is not the blind trial-and-error of a newcomer, but a confident advance grounded in years of deep industry engagement—keeping the company ahead of the curve.

Of course, standing out from the pack in China's limestone sector is one thing; becoming a global brand leader is quite another. Building trust with overseas clients, among other challenges, is not achieved overnight. Yet, at least for now, Chaoshi Group's strategic pacing and heavy-asset commitment in the limestone arena offer a case study well worth watching for Chinese stone enterprises navigating their own transformation and upgrade journeys.