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AsianFin -- Wang Linpeng, the 57-year-old chairman and controlling shareholder of Chinese home furnishing chain Easyhome New Retail Group Co., has died in an apparent suicide, according to multiple industry sources and widespread social media reports on Saturday. The A-share listed firm has yet to issue an official statement, saying only it will “disclose in accordance with regulatory instructions.”

The reported incident comes just days after Wang was released from detention following a months-long investigation by authorities in Wuhan. The sudden death of the Easyhome chairman is the latest in a string of turmoil to hit China's beleaguered home improvement and property-related sectors.

Wang had recently returned to work after the Wuhan Jianghan District Supervisory Committee lifted its detention order and placed him under a lesser form of investigative supervision. The company disclosed the change in a July 23 filing, four months after it first announced Wang had been taken into custody in April.

His passing marks the second high-profile tragedy to hit China’s home improvement industry in as many weeks. Just ten days ago, Zeng Yuzhou, the 53-year-old founder of Guangdong-based interior decoration firm Liang Home, jumped to his death, one day before his company declared bankruptcy and began liquidation proceedings.

Wang, who took over Easyhome in 1999 at just 30 years old, had built the firm into one of China’s largest home furnishing retailers, with hundreds of malls across the country. But in recent years, the company—and Wang himself—faced mounting pressures tied to aggressive expansion, mounting debt, operational controversies, and heavy equity selloffs.

Once a Forbes-listed billionaire, Wang had been the face of Easyhome’s rapid rise. At its peak, the firm attracted a 13 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) strategic investment from a consortium including Alibaba Group, Yunfeng Capital, and Taikang Life in 2018. The following year, Easyhome achieved a backdoor listing via a reverse merger with Wuhan Zhongshang Group, valuing the company at over 350 billion yuan.

Since then, the company has faced a steep decline in net profit, with Easyhome’s earnings falling from 31.6 billion yuan in 2019 to just 7.7 billion yuan in 2024, according to company filings. Over the same period, Wang’s personal wealth saw significant erosion, though he and related entities managed to cash out more than 40 billion yuan through dividends and share sales, according to estimates based on stock disclosures.

Meanwhile, Easyhome has been dogged by scandals. In April, multiple consumers filed complaints alleging fraudulent advertising and service defaults at the company’s Guangzhou Xintang mall. At least 200 households were said to be affected, with estimated damages exceeding ¥13 million. In June, four major furniture retailers operating inside the same mall—including Oppein and Kuka—abruptly ceased operations, leaving hundreds of renovation contracts unfulfilled.

In response to the debacle, some brands have offered limited remediation. Oppein, for instance, said it would complete deliveries for verified orders using internal funds and later pursue compensation through legal channels.

Wang’s ambition to reposition Easyhome from a traditional home furnishing mall to a tech-driven smart home experience center led to a rebranding in December 2024, when the company changed its name to “Easyhome Smart Living”. But with declining demand in China’s property market and shrinking household consumption, analysts say the company’s transition lacked a clear commercial path.

Despite headwinds, Wang continued to push expansion aggressively, including into underperforming second- and third-tier cities. Insiders say many stores remained unprofitable, and the firm’s high fixed costs left it vulnerable to revenue shocks.

Wang’s death marks a tragic end to a career once celebrated as a symbol of China’s entrepreneurial ascent. Yet it also exposes the growing financial and emotional toll facing private business leaders amid a slowing economy, tightened regulations, and weakening consumer sentiment.

The capital markets now turn their attention to the future of Easyhome. With its founder gone, mounting liabilities, and structural challenges in the real estate-linked consumer market, analysts warn of further turbulence ahead.

“The more pressing question now,” one Shenzhen-based investor told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity, “is not how Wang Linpeng died—but how Easyhome survives.”

This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.