BLUE LION

What BLUE LION does

BLUE LION (蓝狮子, formally Hangzhou Blue Lion Cultural & Creativity Co., Ltd. / 杭州蓝狮子文化创意股份有限公司) is a Hangzhou-based publishing services company founded in 2005 by financial writer Wu Xiaobo (吴晓波) to produce corporate books, brand histories, case studies, and business thought-leadership content for large Chinese enterprises. The company operates primarily as a B2B professional services firm, providing end-to-end corporate book production — from topic selection, author commissioning, and editorial work to publishing, distribution, and launch-event marketing. Its core product lines include corporate biographies (企业传记), brand story series, management thought series, business model case studies, and the "China Top 100 Benchmark Enterprises" series, alongside curated book recommendation lists distributed through the Wu Xiaobo Channel and WeChat Reading. The company has published approximately 1,000 titles, with flagship works including Wu Xiaobo's《大败局》and《激荡30年》. Its enterprise client base spans 100+ companies, of which 60% are China 500 or World 500 firms, including Tencent, Alibaba, Huawei, Ping An, Suning, Vanke, Geely, Hisense, PepsiCo, Ant Group/MyBank, and Zheshang Securities.

The business model combines three revenue streams: (1) custom corporate book project fees (professional services) for end-to-end publishing engagements; (2) book sales and licensing royalties across digital reading platforms (Amazon Kindle, Zhangyue, Migu Reading) and traditional retail; and (3) investment returns from cultural venture funds including the Toutoutaodao Fund (top-3 in pan-cultural sector) and the Shixiangjia Fund. The company has no proprietary technology platform; its value is built on Wu Xiaobo's exclusive publishing relationship, a 15+ year specialized editorial team, and a curated author network. Disclosed net profit grew from 22.8M CNY (2015) to 31.14M CNY (2017), supporting a 110M CNY private placement in 2017. The company was listed on China's New Third Board (NEEQ: 834163) in November 2015 and voluntarily delisted in March 2018, subsequently establishing three wholly-owned subsidiaries — Blue Lion Films (蓝狮子影业) in 2018 for film/entertainment content, Gengyun Qiji Publishing (耕读奇迹出版公司) in 2018 for traditional Chinese mythology, and Gengyun Culture (耕雲文化) in 2018 for general knowledge content — pivoting to a "publishing + investment" dual-driver model. Controlling shareholder Anhui Xinmedia (皖新传媒) holds 44.55%, with Wu Xiaobo holding 28.51% as co-founder and second-largest shareholder.

Name

BLUE LION

Legal name

杭州蓝狮子文化创意股份有限公司

Website

https://lanshizi.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

BLUE LION (蓝狮子) is a Hangzhou-based publishing services firm founded in 2005 that produces corporate biographies, brand stories, and business case-study books for large Chinese enterprises, including Tencent, Alibaba, and Huawei, operating a hybrid publishing and cultural-investment business model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Book Publishing Services

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313), Book Publishers (513130), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Book Printing (2732)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

Keywords

• Corporate book publishing
• Business biography writing
• Brand storytelling services
• Enterprise publishing solutions
• Management thought leadership

Headquarters

HQ city

Hangzhou

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Corporate Book Publishing Services: Blue Lion provides end-to-end corporate book publishing services, including topic selection, author commissioning, editorial production, and marketing. The company is commissioned by enterprise clients to produce official company histories, case studies, and business thought-leadership books.
2. Book Sales and Distribution: Sale of published books through digital reading platforms (Amazon, Zhangyue, Migu Reading, etc.) and retail channels. The company maintains a catalog of published titles spanning business history, management thinking, and brand storytelling.
3. Cultural Investment Returns: Blue Lion participates in cultural venture capital funds including 头头是道基金 (泛文化领域 top-3 fund) and 狮享家基金, generating investment returns as part of its 'publishing + investment' dual-driver business model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Blue Lion (蓝狮子) provides end-to-end corporate book publishing services for large Chinese enterprises, including topic selection, author commissioning, editorial production, publishing, and marketing support. Its offerings are organized into themed series covering corporate biographies, management thinking, business model case studies, brand stories, China's top 100 benchmark enterprises, management diaries, hidden champions, M&A finance, craftsmanship, and innovation. The company also distributes published titles through digital reading platforms and traditional retail channels.

Product overview

BLUE LION (蓝狮子) operates as a traditional publishing company offering corporate book publishing services. The core offerings include enterprise biography writing services, management thought books, business model case studies, and brand story publications. The company organizes its publications into several branded series including 'China Top 100 Benchmark Enterprises Series', 'Management Log Series', 'Hidden Champion Series', 'M&A Finance Series', 'Beautiful Series', and 'Innovation Series'. The company also provides digital reading content distribution services through major platforms including Amazon Kindle, Zhangyue, and Migu Reading. BLUE LION functions as a single product line (book publishing services) rather than a software platform with modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 耕雲: A general knowledge and educational content cultural brand invested in 2018, focusing on science, art and humanities content production
• 蓝狮子图书

Products and services

• Corporate Biography Writing Service (企业传记服务) End-to-end corporate biography and history writing service that documents enterprise development timelines, success factors, and corporate heritage from an objective perspective. Designed for enterprise clients that lack in-house publishing capability.
• Brand Story Book Series (品牌故事系列)
• Business Model Case Study Series (商业模式系列)
• Management Thought Series (管理思想系列)
• China Top 100 Benchmark Enterprises Series (中国百家标杆企业系列)
• Management Diary Series (管理日志系列)
• Hidden Champion Book Series (隐形冠军书系)
• M&A Finance Book Series (并购金融书系)
• Beautiful Book Series (美好书系)
• Innovation Book Series (创新书系)
• Digital Reading Content Distribution (数字阅读内容分发)

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% of enterprise clients are China 500 or World 500 companies, demonstrating Blue Lion's ability to serve top-tier corporate clients
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers23 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• 百事公司 (PepsiCo)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2021Blue Lion and PepsiCo jointly produced《跨过山海：百事公司植根中国40周年回顾》as a cultural gift at PepsiCo's 40th anniversary celebration in China. The book covers PepsiCo's 40-year journey since establishing its first joint venture factory in Shenzhen in 1981.
• 千发集团 (Qianfa Group)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 September 2019Blue Lion produced《中国鱼》about Qianfa Group's ecological fishery operations at Qiandao Lake, released at the National Large Water Body Ecological Fishery Development Forum. The book explores the harmony between business operations and environmental/natural preservation.
• 松下 (Panasonic)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 July 2019Blue Lion co-hosted the 中日匠人对话'造物之美' dialogue event at the Beijing Panasonic Memorial Hall, featuring Japanese and Chinese craftsmen discussing craftsmanship and innovation. Blue Lion's《造物之美》was featured at the accompanying 京都和风家电展 exhibition.
• 海信容声 (Hisense Ronshen)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2019Blue Lion produced《再造容声》to document Ronshen's 35-year history as a leading Chinese appliance brand. Wu Xiaobo led the research team for comprehensive interviews and brand storytelling, published to celebrate the brand's 35th anniversary.
• 汽车之家 (Autohome)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 March 2019Blue Lion and Autohome (world's most visited automotive website, ~100B USD market cap) signed a book collaboration project in March 2019 to jointly research and document the Chinese automotive industry's development and transformation, contributing a definitive industry study for the 70th anniversary of New China.
• 蚂蚁金服/网商银行 (Ant Group/MyBank)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Blue Lion's editorial team conducted executive interviews with Ant Group CEO Jing Xiandongong, Ant Group President Hu Xiaoming, and MyBank's founding president Yu Shengfa to produce《无微不至——网商银行普惠金融之路》. The commemorative edition was unveiled at the MyBank Small and Micro Enterprise Financial Summit in June 2019.
• 欧诗漫 (OSM Cosmetics)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Blue Lion produced《一辈子只为一颗珍珠》for OSM, documenting the brand's pearl craftsmanship story. The book was featured on 东方卫视's Mid-Autumn Gala with Angelababy and Shen Zhirong, and donated to the True Love Dream Foundation.
• 浙商证券 (Zheshang Securities)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Blue Lion and Zheshang Securities have maintained a five-year co-publishing partnership, producing four corporate brand books: 《浙商古道行》《浙商古道行 第二辑》《浙商股道行》and《浙商古道行 第三辑》. The books have enhanced Zheshang Securities' brand visibility and social influence.
• 吴晓波 (Wu Xiaobo)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Wu Xiaobo is Blue Lion's co-founder and second-largest shareholder (28.51%). All of his classic business books including《大败局》and《激荡30年》are published exclusively by Blue Lion. He serves as the company's strategic designer and spiritual leader, driving innovation and transformation in the financial publishing business.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Forbes Books: Corporate book publishing imprint leveraging the Forbes brand to produce business books for executives. Comparable to Blue Lion's enterprise publishing services and brand-anchored positioning, although Western in market and brand association.
• Advantage Media Group: U.S.-based corporate book publishing services company producing business books for executives and enterprises. Closest international peer to Blue Lion's enterprise publishing services model (custom corporate books, author commissioning, marketing support) — comparable business model even though operating in a different geography.
• CITIC Press (中信出版): China's largest business and finance-focused book publisher (Shenzhen-listed 300788). Highly comparable to Blue Lion across business/management book publishing, premium editorial positioning, and direct-to-consumer distribution channels.
• Cheers Publishing (湛庐文化): Leading Chinese business and social sciences book publisher with curated translation-led catalog. Comparable to Blue Lion in target reader (knowledge professionals), editorial curation model, and premium pricing positioning.
• Dook Media (读客文化): Shenzhen-listed Chinese trade book publisher (301025) covering business, fiction, and lifestyle. Comparable in scale, multi-genre publishing operations, digital-first distribution, and curated brand-led marketing approach.
• Cheers Publishing (后浪出版公司): Independent Chinese publisher focused on humanities, social sciences, and business titles. Comparable to Blue Lion in general trade publishing mix, curated catalog positioning, and target professional/educated reader base.
• Motie Books (磨铁图书): Major Chinese trade book publisher spanning literature, business, and lifestyle genres. Comparable to Blue Lion in publishing scale, multi-format operations, and digital/retail channel distribution.
• New Classic Culture (新经典文化): Listed Chinese trade book publisher focused on quality literary and nonfiction titles. Comparable to Blue Lion in curated editorial positioning, premium brand building, and direct-to-consumer distribution channels.

Emerging players

• Page Two Books: Corporate book publishing services company partnering with business authors. Partial overlap with Blue Lion's enterprise publishing services — focused on thought-leadership books for executives but at smaller scale.

Broad incumbents

• China Machine Press (机械工业出版社): Large established Chinese publisher covering business, technology, and management titles. Overlaps with Blue Lion in the business/management book category but operates as a much broader academic/professional publisher with different scale and channel mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BLUE LION