#76: Lululemon China events flop, Häagen-Dazs shops sold to Chinese brand, Seesaw files for bankruptcy, Sinopec opens pet salons | Following the Yuan
Two of Lululemon China's biggest recent events have drawn controversy as the company grapples with slowing sales growth.
Brands mentioned in this issue: Lululemon, Häagen-Dazs, Ningji, Doubao, ByteDance, OPPO, SeeSaw, FILA, Centaline, Sinopec
📊 BIG STAT
China’s “him economy” gains real traction this 618 // Men’s products emerged as a standout growth category in this year’s 618 shopping festival — in Austin Li’s livestream, male shoppers’ average order value and repurchase rates both rose year-on-year, with Gen Z men becoming the main contributor. The numbers point to a real structural shift: China’s men’s skincare market grew from 9.9 billion yuan in 2021 to 15.6 billion yuan in 2024 and is projected to top 20 billion yuan by 2026.
💄 FASHION & BEAUTY
Lululemon China’s events flop // Two of Lululemon China's biggest recent events have drawn controversy as the company grapples with slowing sales growth.
At the end of May, the company held a yoga festival on the Great Wall attended by around 1,000 people, where brand ambassador Zhu Yilong struck a ceremonial drum. The controversy centered on the drum itself: it was not a traditional Chinese drum, but a Japanese taiko drum. The brand issued a public apology on June 16.
Two weeks later, Lululemon's large-scale event in Shanghai's North Bund, attended by around 1,000 people, was hit by a torrential downpour. Without any plan B, some attendees left while others pushed through and finished the session in the rain.
The timing could hardly have been worse for the company. Lululemon is already grappling with slowing growth, and mainland China has been one of its few bright spots in recent years.
Comparable sales in mainland China grew 13% in Q1 2026 on a constant-currency basis, down from 19% in Q4 2025.
These costly major events were supposed to make Lululemon closer to its communities, however, it may have done more hard than good.
🍽️ FOOD & BEVERAGE
Beijing’s “Goose Leg Auntie” falls from grace // A Beijing street vendor known as “Goose Leg Auntie” — beloved by students at Peking, Tsinghua, and Renmin universities who famously crossed campuses to queue for her grilled “goose” legs — has been exposed by a white-collar professional for selling duck the whole time. This seemingly small incident stirred up the internet because of her wide influence based on these universities’ prestige.
Some past customers also posted photos of their greenish meat — which she attributed to a “secret recipe” of vegetable juice when asked — and inspired a wave of bloggers doing experiments themselves.
Häagen-Dazs shops sold to a Ningji-led investor group in China // General Mills announced on June 2 that it will sell its mainland China Häagen-Dazs store network to an investor group led by Ningji, a Hunan-born lemon tea chain.
The buyer will receive an exclusive license to operate Häagen-Dazs-branded ice cream shops and gifting businesses in mainland China, while General Mills retains ownership of the brand’s retail and foodservice operations in the market. The deal is expected to close in 2026, with financial terms undisclosed.
China’s OG specialty coffee brand Seesaw files for bankruptcy // Seesaw Coffee, founded in 2012 as one of China’s first homegrown specialty coffee chains, has been hit with bankruptcy review filings. Predating Luckin by five years, it was once a darling of the premium coffee scene and was priced above Starbucks. It raised three rounds of funding from investors including HEYTEA and Black Ant Capital. As of mid-May, only 34 stores remain open nationwide.
🛍️ RETAIL
Some China’s ride-hail drivers are turning their cars into “mobile malls” // As ride-hailing income shrinks amid driver oversupply, a number of drivers across China are reinventing their cars as roving storefronts.
A Jiangmen driver installed a coffee machine in the passenger seat, branding it “Red Light Coffee” and charging up to 29 yuan a cup; a Shanghai driver covered his car in jade pendants and raw stones, turning it into a mobile jewelry shop; a Suzhou cabbie set up an “8-yuan haircut” sign in his parking lot.
🧠 TECH
Doubao loses 6.1 million monthly users after paid tier leaks // ByteDance’s AI chatbot Doubao saw its monthly active users drop by 6.1 million in May — a rare decline since its 2023 launch — after introducing a paid subscription option.
“China’s free AI era is far from over, so Doubao’s monetization may indeed be premature,” said Li Bangzhu, founder of global AI tracker aicpb.com.
OPPO launches a digital badge prized at 499 yuan // Chinese consumer electronics brand OPPO unveiled OPPO Bubble, a 499-yuan magnetic circular mini-screen that works as a customizable “electronic badge” on a bag or being worn as a wearable display. When snapped onto the back of OPPO phones, it also doubles as a remote selfie viewfinder. The launch taps directly into China’s booming “guzi economy” — fan merchandise sales reached 202.1 billion yuan in 2025.
🏃♂️ SPORTS
FILA builds a tennis court made from recycled tennis balls // Sportswear brand FILA has constructed China’s first sustainable tennis court entirely from recycled tennis balls in Qingdao. Over two months, the brand collected 20,600 discarded balls from more than 40 tennis clubs across 16 cities before turning them into granules for the court surface. The project claimed to have cut carbon emissions by an equivalent of 12.36 tons compared to using petrochemical products.
🏠 REAL ESTATE
Centaline pushes into student housing, eyeing 6,000 beds in 3 years // Centaline, the Hong Kong-founded real estate agency group, began moving into Hong Kong’s student housing sector in 2024 and has been expanding aggressively. Its student-housing brand Yi She launched two new properties for lease on June 1, offering over 750 beds. A single bed at the Mid-Levels West area starts at around HK$13,500/month, while beds at the Kowloon City start at HK$6,128/month.
🐾 PET
Sinopec opens pet salons at its gas stations // Sinopec, the state oil giant with over 30,000 gas stations nationwide, has opened two pet service centers at stations in Changsha, Hunan. Drivers can now refuel, charge, wash their car, shop, and get their pets groomed or boarded — all at one stop.
Protests erupt over a dog abuse case in Chongqing // A 39-year-old man surnamed Li in Chongqing has been detained after being exposed as an animal abuser. The case triggered hundreds of volunteers and citizens to protest outside his home, and police cleared the crowd amid clashes on June 9. Li had already gained local notoriety as the “Sam’s Club packing guy” for hoarding free samples at the Walmart’s supermarket chain in 2024.
He was detailed by the police on June 10 and has been placed under administrative detention, which usually spans for 5-10 days. China’s legal protection over companion animals remains absent and still a controversial subject.
🗓️ UPCOMING – PICK & CHOOSE YOUR CHINA ITINERARY IN JUN 2026
Jun 16-18, CPHI & PMEC China 2026, Shanghai
Jun 24-26, China International Beauty Expo, Shanghai
Text: Rongrong Zhuge, with editorial assistance of Claude
Editor: Yaling Jiang
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