Shanghai Vive

Shanghai Vive is a Chinese luxury cosmetics brand marketed under the English name Shanghai Vive and the Chinese name Shuangmei (双妹; traditional Chinese: 雙妹). Its history is connected to The House of Kwong Sang Hong Limited, a Hong Kong company established in 1898. Kwong Sang Hong developed the Shuangmei trademark, whose name is commonly rendered in English as “Two Girls,” and expanded its business to Shanghai in 1903. The brand’s development reflects the commercial links between Hong Kong and Shanghai in the early twentieth century. After the Shanghai branch became part of Shanghai Jahwa Corporation under China’s public-private partnership policy in 1956, Shuangmei continued as a legacy brand within the new corporate structure but was gradually discontinued in Mainland China. This interruption separated the historic trademark from continuous consumer-market activity in the mainland. Shanghai Jahwa relaunched the brand in 2010 under the name Shanghai Vive. The choice of English name was significant: the direct translation “Two Girls” could not be used for the revived mainland-facing brand because that wording remained a trademark of Kwong Sang Hong in Hong Kong. Shanghai Vive therefore combines the historical Shuangmei identity with a new English expression intended to evoke Shanghai’s cosmopolitan heritage and the brand’s luxury positioning. The available reference material identifies Shanghai Vive broadly as a luxury cosmetics brand but does not provide a complete product catalogue, detailed retail footprint, executive history, ownership disclosures beyond its association with Shanghai Jahwa, or current financial information. Its documented significance lies primarily in the preservation and revival of a historic Chinese cosmetics trademark within Shanghai Jahwa’s brand portfolio.

Shanghai Vive traces its identity to Shuangmei, a Chinese cosmetics trademark associated with The House of Kwong Sang Hong Limited. Kwong Sang Hong was founded in Hong Kong in 1898, placing the brand’s origins within the early development of modern Chinese consumer-goods businesses. The Shuangmei name is written as 双妹 in simplified Chinese and 雙妹 in traditional Chinese. It is often translated as “Two Girls.” Kwong Sang Hong established a presence in Shanghai in 1903. The Shanghai operation connected the brand to one of China’s most commercially international cities and helped establish the historical basis for the brand’s later Shanghai-oriented identity. The available account does not specify the full range of products sold during this period, but identifies Shuangmei as a cosmetics brand. A major institutional change occurred in 1956. Under the public-private partnership policy implemented in Communist China, the Shanghai branch of Kwong Sang Hong was subsumed into Shanghai Jahwa Corporation. This transferred the Shanghai business and its associated brand heritage into a new corporate setting. Shuangmei was subsequently maintained for a period but gradually discontinued in Mainland China, ending its uninterrupted presence in the mainland cosmetics market. The brand was revived in 2010 by Shanghai Jahwa. Rather than use the literal English translation Two Girls, Shanghai Jahwa adopted the name Shanghai Vive. The change was required by trademark circumstances: Two Girls remained a trademark of Kwong Sang Hong in Hong Kong. Shanghai Vive thus became the English-facing name for the revived brand, while Shuangmei continued to provide its Chinese historical identity. The relaunch positioned the brand as a luxury cosmetics label with a strong heritage connection to Shanghai. Its story draws on the city’s early twentieth-century commercial culture, the historical Shuangmei trademark, and Shanghai Jahwa’s role in preserving and redeveloping legacy Chinese beauty brands. The documented sources do not provide enough information to establish a detailed chronology of individual products, advertising campaigns, corporate executives, sales performance, or international distribution. Accordingly, the brand’s best-supported historical narrative is its origin in the Kwong Sang Hong trademark, Shanghai expansion in 1903, incorporation into Shanghai Jahwa in 1956, discontinuation in Mainland China, and revival as Shanghai Vive in 2010.

1. 2010Shuangmei is relaunched as Shanghai Vive

   Shanghai Jahwa revives the historic cosmetics brand and introduces Shanghai Vive as its English name. The literal translation Two Girls is not adopted because it remains a Hong Kong trademark of Kwong Sang Hong.

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2. 1956Shanghai branch is subsumed into Shanghai Jahwa

   Under China’s public-private partnership policy, Kwong Sang Hong’s Shanghai branch becomes part of Shanghai Jahwa Corporation. Shuangmei’s presence in Mainland China later declines and is gradually discontinued.

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3. 1903Kwong Sang Hong establishes a Shanghai presence

   The Shanghai branch of Kwong Sang Hong begins operating in the city, bringing the Shuangmei brand into Shanghai’s commercial environment.

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4. 1898The House of Kwong Sang Hong is founded

   The House of Kwong Sang Hong Limited is established in Hong Kong. The Shuangmei cosmetics identity later associated with Shanghai Vive originates from this company’s trademark history.

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A heritage-inspired Chinese luxury cosmetics brand linking the historic Shuangmei identity with Shanghai’s early modern commercial and cosmopolitan culture.

• Shuangmei / Shanghai Vive cosmeticsLuxury cosmetics

  The brand is documented as a luxury cosmetics label descended from the Shuangmei trademark. The available reference material does not identify specific current product names or provide a complete catalogue, so this entry describes the documented category rather than attributing individual products.

• 2010Adopt the Shanghai Vive English name for the brand revivalStrategy

  Shanghai Jahwa sought to bring the historic Shuangmei cosmetics identity back to the Mainland Chinese market after its earlier discontinuation.

  What changed. The company relaunched Shuangmei under the English name Shanghai Vive instead of using the direct translation Two Girls, because Two Girls remained a trademark of Kwong Sang Hong in Hong Kong.

  Aftermath. Shanghai Vive became the revived brand’s English-facing identity while Shuangmei retained its Chinese historical association.

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• 2010Shanghai Jahwa restarts the Shuangmei brand as Shanghai Vive

  Shanghai Jahwa Corporation revived the historic Shuangmei cosmetics brand and adopted Shanghai Vive as its English name. The direct English translation Two Girls was not used because that wording remained a trademark of Kwong Sang Hong in Hong Kong.

  Product launchOther
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1. Shanghai Vive