Consumer news digest: you can help rename viral app "Are you dead", Apple Watch becomes Class II medical device in China, Alo Yoga to open in Q2
China's closure rate of food and beverage venues is expected to more than double, reaching a record of 48.9% in 2025 from under 20% in 2019.
Hi everyone,
Happy 2026, or the end of the Year of the Snake. I just returned from a 3-week trip to China, where I went to many places for the first time — Lijiang’s Yulong village (for a wedding), Guiyang, Taiyuan (for a wedding) and the nearby Pingyao County.
I can’t say I’ve come to know them that thoroughly from a short stay, but visiting has definitely laid a good foundation for me to keep learning about the cities, their surrounding regions and the demographics better. For example, while in Guiyang, I had a better understanding its popular identify “the city of coffee competition winners” through going to several of the 3,000 coffee shops.
At the same time, I also saw scenes one wouldn’t encounter in many other tier-1 or tier-2 cities: senior gig workers hanging out at large intersections with baskets full of tools — a quiet reflection of the wealth gap.
For this issue of the monthly consumer news digest, mentioned brands, companies and institutions are: LVMH, Rolex, RedNote, Cotti Coffee, Chanel, IKEA, Apple Watch, “Are you dead” (now Demumu), Anta Sports, Alo Yoga, and Adidas.
📊 BIG STAT
Food & Beverage in 2026: Brutal shakeout // China’s food and beverage scene has become more competitive than ever.
Nestlé Professional released the 2026 Chinese Food & Beverage White Paper (《2026中国中式餐饮白皮书》) on December 24, 2025, which projects China’s revenue to grow at a low single-digit rate in 2025 to 5.7 trillion yuan, while the F&B closure rate is expected to surge to a record 48.9% (from under 20% pre-pandemic), alongside a 50% new-store open rate.
💄 FASHION & BEAUTY
LVMH closes more stores in China // Several brands under luxury giant LVMH are accelerating store closures in China. Louis Vuitton and Fendi have closed stores in Beijing, while Tiffany & Co. has shut its location in Harbin. Jewelry brand Chaumet has also closed its store in Chengdu. This marks LVMH’s first large-scale contraction in the Chinese market in over a decade, following its previous pullback in 2015.
Rolex launches certified pre-owned program in Nanjing // On January 6, Rolex rolled out its Certified Pre-Owned Programme in mainland China, debuting the initiative at its Nanjing Deji Plaza store. According to Jiemian News’ analysis, Rolex’s sales points in mainland China dropped 28.3% over the last year to 66. Meanwhile, it’s been enquiring its licensed distributors to ramp up store experiences.
Chinese university down jackets outshine luxury puffers // A Renmin University down jacket priced at 899 yuan recently went viral after the school’s Party Secretary, who has over 100,000 followers, promoted it on RedNote.
Earlier hits included a Wuhan University jacket worn by Xiaomi founder Lei Jun and a Central Academy of Drama version spotted on actor Hu Xianxu. Blending affordability and the identity label attached to the school names, these university puffers are turning school merch into an unexpected fashion flex.
🍽️ FOOD & BEVERAGE
Cotti Coffee leverage Chanel-linked director for marketing // Cotti Coffee recently teamed up with Hubert Barrère, the artistic director of Lesage, a French specialty house house owned by Chanel, for its “Paris in Pink” packaging. The collaboration launched in late December sparked a buying frenzy. Beyond sharing photos of the drink, many consumers started DIY projects, turning the packages into tissue boxes and Christmas trees, which is reminiscent of a similar Chagee Dior-like bag trend in early 2024.
🛍️ RETAIL
IKEA shifts China strategy // IKEA China announced it will close seven stores starting February 2, 2026, located in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Nantong, Xuzhou, Ningbo, and Harbin. After the closures, IKEA will operate 34 physical malls in China. The company is expected to shift from scale expansion to targeted growth, focusing on Beijing and Shenzhen, with plans to open more than 10 smaller-format stores over the next two years. Two contributing factors are likely to be China’s low rate of new home sales rate (down 11.2% in the first 11 months of 2025 compared to last year) and the booming availability of cheaper substitutes.
🧠 TECH
Apple Watch gains medical device approval in China // Two years after launching the feature elsewhere, Apple Watch’s atrial fibrillation (AFib) history feature has received approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration and is now available on the mainland market. With the clearance, Apple Watch is officially classified as a Class II medical device in China.
Viral app “Are You Dead?” changes its name, not // Priced at 8 yuan, a two-week-old app named “Are You Dead?” (Si Le Me, 死了么) climbed to No.1 on the paid apps ranking by Jan. 10. Targeting people living alone, the app’s users register emergency contacts and check in daily. If they miss two consecutive days, the system automatically sends an alert email to the listed contact in the user’s name.
After the controversial name drew public attention, on Jan. 13, the team announced it would be renamed Demumu to serve a global audience better. A day later, it pedals back its decision and opened the naming rights to the public until Jan. 18.
RedNote tests paid feature // On January 6, news spread that RedNote was testing a new paid posts feature. The move signals the platform’s attempt to open up a new monetization path for creators beyond advertising and e-commerce, allowing selected notes to sit behind a paywall.
🏃♂️ SPORTS
Anta in talks to buy 29% stake in Puma // Reuters reported on January 8th that Anta Sports has made an offer to the Pinault family to acquire its 29% stake in German sportswear brand Puma. If the deal goes through, the powerful sports giant, which owns Arc'teryx, Salomon, Wilson, Peak Performance through Amer Sports, would replace the Pinault family as Puma’s largest single shareholder.
Alo Yoga readies for China debut in Beijing and Shanghai in Q2 // The US athleisure brand Alo Yoga’s team has been spotted at Shanghai Jing’an Kerry Centre, where it’s set to open a store, along with a three-story one in Beijing’s Sanlitun, both slated for Q2. There have been rumors around Alo Yoga’s entry for years; however, it already faces widespread counterfeiting, with more than 100 knockoff stores currently operating across major e-commerce platforms.
🌍 TRAVEL & TOURISM
Famous tourism city goes head to head with RedNote // Lijiang in Yunnan has long been a popular destination for wedding photography, but the boom is increasingly straining both consumers and local studios, with a market size of one billion yuan.
The Culture and Tourism Bureau of Lijiang’s Gucheng District has formally asked RedNote to improve on content oversight in the wedding photography sector, arguing that false or exaggerated “complaint posts” have resulted in more than 1 million RMB in cancellations and over 5 million RMB in indirect losses.
🐾 PET
Adidas extends its “New Chinese Style” clothing to pets // Building on the buzz around its New Chinese Style sports jacket, Adidas has unveiled a matching pet apparel line. The collection (right) carries over signature elements such as traditional frog closures (pankou), with three colorways: red, yellow, and blue.
