Mixue Faces Challenges in Mature Markets Like Japan and Hong Kong
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Chinese beverage chain Mixue is struggling in mature markets, with only four stores in Japan three years after launch and a significant closure rate in Hong Kong, indicating challenges beyond its value-for-money strategy.
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Chinese beverage chain Mixue's expansion into mature markets like Japan and Hong Kong is facing significant challenges, with low popularity and high closure rates impacting its growth targets.
“It’s not a very popular brand here. Only one of my friends in Japan has ever bought it,” Lin said, adding that value for money was the main consideration behind her own consumer choices in Tokyo. While Mixue’s basic teas are cheap, a plain bubble tea still costs about 400 yen (US$2.46) in Japan – comparable to peers offering more inventive flavours like mango.
“I would definitely choose the latter over Mixue, given there’s no big difference in price,” she said.
But that playbook is now being tested in more mature markets. Three years after entering Japan, Mixue still operated only four stores in the country, far short of its initial target of 1,000 outlets by 2028, Japanese media outlet Nikkei reported in late June.
The company also made a high-profile entry into Hong Kong in late 2023, opening nine stores in its first year. But it closed a third of its outlets within the first six months of 2026, with its store in Tsim Sha Tsui the latest to close, according to local media last month.
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توقعات الذكاء الاصطناعي — احتمالات وليست حقائق
Mixue may miss its 2028 target of 1,000 outlets in Japan.
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Further store closures in Hong Kong are probable.
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أسئلة مفتوحة
- Can Mixue adapt its strategy for mature markets?
- What are the specific reasons for high closure rates?
- Will Mixue reconsider its expansion plans?
