Century
Hangzhou Century Co., Ltd. is a Chinese publicly listed provider of EAS, RFID, and ESL hardware and solutions for global retail loss prevention, inventory visibility, and electronic pricing across apparel, grocery, supply chain, automotive, and healthcare customers.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2003
- HeadquartersHangzhou, China
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Century does
Hangzhou Century Co., Ltd. (Shenzhen Stock Exchange: 300078.SZ; brand: Century / 思创智联) is a Chinese public company founded in November 2003 and listed in April 2010 that designs, manufactures, and distributes Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) hardware for global retail and adjacent industries. Its product portfolio spans AM and RF pedestals and antennas (e.g., GEMA CA89L, METALKEEPER, AQUA & ONYX), over 1,000 EAS tag and accessory SKUs, RFID inlays and labels built on NXP UCODE and Impinj Monza chips, handheld and fixed readers (including the 2025-launched AI-powered CER511X overhead reader), laundry and asset-tracking tags, and the CENTUVISION ESL line and V-Station cloud service platform. Technology is layered: AM/RF anti-theft detection, UHF RFID for inventory visibility, ESL for dynamic pricing, and emerging AI-driven analytics on the overhead reader; the company holds ISO 9001:2015 and amfori-BSCI certifications.
Century makes money primarily through hardware sales of EAS systems and tags, RFID inlays/tags/readers, and ESL devices, distributed via direct enterprise sales and a global channel-partner network, with regional marketing through trade shows such as EuroShop and NRF and a 12-language website footprint spanning China, Japan, Korea, India, Thailand, Germany, France, the US, and several additional European and Latin American markets. Customers include apparel and fashion retailers, supermarkets and hypermarkets, food and beverage operators, supply chain and logistics firms, automotive manufacturers, healthcare and hospitality providers (e.g., medical linen management at Jinhua Hospital of Zhejiang University), and beauty and personal care retailers, with named reference accounts including Alibaba's Freshipco and Intime Department Store. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the company is majority-controlled through Century Huatong as the parent holding entity, and its headcount is in the 1,001-5,000 range.
Century firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Century
- Legal name
- Hangzhou Century Co., Ltd.
- Website
- https://century-cn.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2003
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Hangzhou Century Co., Ltd. is a Chinese publicly listed provider of EAS, RFID, and ESL hardware and solutions for global retail loss prevention, inventory visibility, and electronic pricing across apparel, grocery, supply chain, automotive, and healthcare customers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Century industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Retail Loss Prevention & RFID Solutions
- NAICS
- Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345), Communications Equipment Manufacturing (3342)
- SIC
- Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) & Shelf-Edge Hardware (HDACAKAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Industrial IoT/Edge Electronics Manufacturing (Gateways, Edge Controllers) (IMAGAGAC), Sensors & Modules (IMU, GPS, Camera, RF) Retail (CRACAKAC)
Keywords
Where Century is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hangzhou
- HQ country
- China
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Century business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- EAS Products and Systems: Sale of Electronic Article Surveillance systems, tags, and accessories for retail loss prevention
- RFID Products and Solutions: RFID inlays, tags, labels, readers, and integrated solutions for inventory management and supply chain visibility
- ESL Products: Electronic shelf labels and system devices for smart retail pricing
- Customized Hardware and Industry Solutions: Customized hardware products and industry-specific application solutions
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Century product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hangzhou Century Co., Ltd. (Century) designs, manufactures, and sells integrated EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), and ESL (Electronic Shelf Label) hardware and solutions for retail loss prevention, inventory management, and smart store operations. Its portfolio spans detection antennas (AM, RF, dual-technology), security tags and labels, RFID inlays and readers, electronic shelf labels, and the V-STATION cloud platform, serving enterprise and mid-market retail customers globally.
Product overview
Century is a leading EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) integrated products and solutions provider for retail and other industries. The company's product portfolio centers around three core technology pillars: EAS systems (including GEMA CA89L, METALKEEPER, AQUA & ONYX antennas, and comprehensive tag/accessory lines), RFID solutions (spanning inlays like CE331540/CE331830, tags for apparel/laundry/assets, and readers including AI-powered CER511X overhead reader), and ESL (Electronic Shelf Labels) under the CENTUVISION brand. The EAS offerings include detection systems, hard tags, alarming tags, labels, and safer boxes for merchandise protection. The RFID portfolio covers UHF inlays with NXP and Impinj chips, specialized tags for apparel, laundry, bottles, and assets, plus fixed and handheld readers. ESL products provide digital pricing and store management solutions. Century serves smart retail, smart manufacturing, smart warehousing, food protection, and healthcare industries with diversified services to global customers. The company was established in November 2003 and listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange in April 2010 (Stock Code: 300078.SZ).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CENTUVISION: Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) product system brand
- V-Station
- TexTrack
- EasiCap
- METALKEEPER
- FORTKNOX
- MeTALION
- FINURA
- VISORA
- SATINA
- STELLA
Companies that use Century
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Century technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature4 records
Century partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Alert SystemscoreCentury partners globally with Alert Systems to fight against Organized Retail Crimes (ORC). This is a strategic partnership focused on combining expertise in loss prevention solutions to address organized retail crime challenges.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Century competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SoluM: South Korean ESL and smart retail solutions provider offering Newton and Aimsun ESL product lines. Competes with Century for global supermarket and hypermarket ESL contracts.
- Zebra Technologies: Major provider of RFID hardware (fixed, handheld, overhead readers) and enterprise mobile solutions, competing directly with Century's CER511X, CER790, and CER500/CER501 RFID reader lines for retail and supply-chain deployments.
- Pricer AB: European-headquartered ESL provider specializing in cloud-based electronic shelf labels for grocery retail. Directly comparable to Century's CENTUVISION ESL line in supermarket pricing automation.
- SES-imagotag (VusionGroup): Global ESL market leader (VusionGroup), competing directly with Century's CENTUVISION ESL line across Europe and globally. Both serve supermarket and apparel retailers with electronic shelf label systems and digital pricing solutions.
- Avery Dennison: Global RFID inlay and label manufacturer (owner of Alien Technology) competing with Century's RFID inlay portfolio for apparel, retail, and supply-chain tagging. Also a major player in retail apparel branding and labeling.
- Sensormatic Solutions (Johnson Controls): Johnson Controls-owned retail loss-prevention leader offering EAS antennas, hard tags, RFID, and source-tagging services. Directly competes with Century's GEMA, METALKEEPER, and RFID product lines for large retail enterprise contracts.
- Checkpoint Systems: Long-established global EAS and RFID solutions provider (CCL Industries subsidiary), competing head-to-head with Century across hard tags, soft labels, RFID, and source tagging for apparel and retail. Highly comparable product portfolio and customer base.
- Hanshow: Chinese ESL and smart retail solutions provider rapidly expanding globally with electronic shelf labels and IoT retail platforms. Closest direct Chinese competitor to Century's ESL business.
- Nedap: Dutch technology company offering RFID-based retail loss-prevention (iD Top), ESL (iS Top), and stock-management solutions. Competes with Century's integrated EAS+RFID+ESL approach in European retail accounts.
Broad incumbents
- Impinj: Leading RAIN RFID silicon and platform provider whose chips (Monza R6/R6-P) power many RFID inlays including Century's CE331830. While a partial competitor (Impinj also offers gateways), it is primarily a chip supplier competing at the silicon layer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Century social profiles
Digital presenceCentury compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Century financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Century leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Century funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Century M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Century
What does Century do?
Hangzhou Century Co., Ltd. (Century) designs, manufactures, and sells integrated EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), and ESL (Electronic Shelf Label) hardware and solutions for retail loss prevention, inventory management, and smart store operations. Its portfolio spans detection antennas (AM, RF, dual-technology), security tags and labels, RFID inlays and readers, electronic shelf labels, and the V-STATION cloud platform, serving enterprise and mid-market retail customers globally.
Is Century a public or private company?
Century is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Century founded?
Century was founded in 2003. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Century based?
Century is headquartered in Hangzhou, China, in the Asia region.
How does Century make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. EAS Products and Systems are the primary driver. The others are RFID Products and Solutions, ESL Products and customized Hardware and Industry Solutions.
Who are Century's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SoluM, Zebra Technologies, Pricer AB, SES-imagotag (VusionGroup), Avery Dennison, Sensormatic Solutions (Johnson Controls), Checkpoint Systems, Hanshow and Nedap. Impinj is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Century have an API?
No public API is recorded for Century.
What industry is Century in?
Century's product category is Retail Loss Prevention & RFID Solutions. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDACAKAJ, Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) & Shelf-Edge Hardware, with a secondary code of IMAGAGAC, Industrial IoT/Edge Electronics Manufacturing (Gateways, Edge Controllers). Its NAICS code is 3345 and its SIC code is 3823.