Consumer news digest 📆

#78: Advocacy for two-day weekend gets censored, Former Gucci creative director joins Icicle, Lee to change China operator | Following the…

Selling nap slots becomes a new revenue stream for some Chinese cinemas, as they collectively lost roughly 125 million audience members over the last…

Sep 17 • Rongrong Zhuge and Yaling Jiang

#78: Retail investors fight over Unitree stock, Abercrombie & Fitch seeks buyers for China business, Alo Yoga opens Tmall store | Following…

Retail investors fight over Unitree stock, pushing allotment rate to all-time low on Nasdaq-like STAR market as Meituan and HSG bag big wins.

Aug 15 • Rongrong Zhuge and Yaling Jiang

#77: Molly Tea's LV fine backfires, Shein nears HK IPO, Luckin and Duolingo's babies, Chef Fei to enter the U.S. | Following the Yuan

LV's courtroom victory over Molly Tea has turned into a PR defeat, as Chinese consumers and state media question who owns traditional Chinese patterns.

Jul 15 • Following the Yuan

#76: Lululemon China events flop, Häagen-Dazs shops sold to Chinese brand, Seesaw files for bankruptcy, Sinopec opens pet salons | Following…

Two of Lululemon China's biggest recent events have drawn controversy as the company grapples with slowing sales growth.

Jun 19 • Following the Yuan

#75: Devil Wears Prada II underperforms, Xinhua enters GEO, Labubu fridge goes viral, Samsung exits China | Following the Yuan

Is the Labubu fridge going to save Pop Mart?

May 14

#74: AI short drama, Patagonia’s “earth tax” backlash, “drink-for-you” on demand, Lay's potato resto 🥔 | Following the Yuan

Chinese consumers are eating more instant noodles, not for economic reasons.

Apr 16 • Rongrong Zhuge

Consumer news digest: March 15 Consumer Rights Gala highlights AI safety, Pop Mart sues 3D printer, Disney's new local rivals | Following…

Mentioned brands, companies and institutions are: Pop Mart, Bambu Lab, Papergames, Centurium Capital, Blue Bottle, Chagee, Alibaba, Formula 1, Tencent…

Mar 16 • Yaling Jiang and Rongrong Zhuge

🐎 Consumer news digest (CNY edition): from Spring Festival Gala to AI red envelopes | Following the Yuan

News on Kingsoft Shiyou, Zegna Group, Pop Mart, Mingming Henmang, Eastroc Beverage, Pangdonglai, Walmart, RedNote, Tencent, Baidu, Alibaba, ByteDance…

Feb 18 • Yaling Jiang and Rongrong Zhuge

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…

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.

Jan 14 • Yaling Jiang and Rongrong Zhuge

⛷️ Consumer news digest: Condom sales slump, skiing on budget, “90-year-old high energy girl” + 11 more updates

The brands we mentioned in this issue are: Jissbon, RedNote, RedPine, Pandora, Laopu Gold, Richemont, PopMart, Haidilao, Mannings, Jing (herbal…

Dec 16, 2025 • Yaling Jiang and Rongrong Zhuge

🔫 Pop Mart's slip-ups during rapid expansion, and 12 other consumer market updates | Following the Yuan

Brands mentioned: JD.com, Tmall, INS Land, Starbucks, Pop Mart, Mardi, ADERERROR, Anta, Rapha, Crispi, Li-Ning, Didi, Douyin

Nov 14, 2025 • Yaling Jiang and Rongrong Zhuge

🌐 First AI-driven Double 11, and 11 other consumer market updates | Following the Yuan

Brands mentioned in this issue: KFC, Meituan, Mixue, Apple, Haidilao, Yuan Programming, Arc’teryx, Pas Normal Studios.

Oct 22, 2025 • Yaling Jiang

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