Introduction:The trend of sportswear brands venturing into the coffee market has a new addition. Following Li-Ning’s launch of Ning Coffee, Xtep—boasting over 6,251 stores—is also rumored to be entering the sector. However, the first Xtep coffee shop, located on Chengdu’s Chunxi Road, did not display the “Xtep Coffee” signage but instead unveiled itself as “COSINE COFFEE.” This move is the result of a collaboration with the Shanghai-based trendy beverage brand COSINE. This article will analyze the strategic considerations behind Xtep’s move, as well as the challenges and potential of sportswear brands crossing over into the coffee industry.
Sportswear brands are accelerating their entry into the coffee arena, and this time it’s the turn of the well-known domestic brand Xtep. Although it was previously reported that Xtep had applied for trademarks related to “Xtep Coffee” and “XTEP COFFEE,” and has over 6,251 physical stores offering a natural advantage for expansion, the first coffee shop, which debuted in Xtep’s flagship store on Chengdu’s Chunxi Road, surprised many—the sign did not feature the words “Xtep Coffee,” but rather displayed the name “COSINE COFFEE.”
Upon closer inspection, it turns out that this coffee shop is actually a collaborative outlet co-created by Xtep and COSINE, a trendy beverage brand founded in Shanghai in 2021. Although the menu still features the logo of the “XTEP COFFEE” trademark that Xtep is currently applying for, it is clearly labeled below as “COSINE COFFEE.” This indicates that this is not a self-operated coffee business by Xtep, but rather a market-testing and risk-management approach through collaboration with an established brand.
In fact, sportswear brands possess an extensive physical retail network, which presents a potential advantage for diversifying into the coffee business. Taking another domestic sportswear brand, Li-Ning, as an example, it has surpassed 7,000 stores nationwide. If it were to fully integrate coffee offerings, Ning Coffee could easily achieve a potential store count in that range. Xtep currently has over 6,251 stores, and as early as August 18, 2022, Xtep (China) Co., Ltd. applied to relevant authorities to register three “Xtep Coffee” and three “XTEP COFFEE” trademarks, signaling its early intention to enter the coffee market.
However, unlike the approach of directly launching its own coffee brand, Xtep’s choice to collaborate with COSINE reflects a more conservative and experimental strategy. COSINE, a trendy beverage brand established in Shanghai in 2021, positions itself as a “new-generation scenario-based ecosystem consumption brand,” rather than just a simple beverage retailer. The brand has previously partnered with convenience store chain Tian Tian to set up coffee corners and has also collaborated with Tencent Esports’ themed hotel, Penguin Hotel, to launch the “COSINE BUFF·COSINE Replenishment Station.” This demonstrates that COSINE already has considerable hands-on experience in cross-industry and scenario integration.
For Xtep, coffee represents a completely new field, requiring everything from supply chain management and product development to store operation models to be built from scratch. Compared to establishing its own team and investing significant resources, collaborating with a coffee brand that already has a certain market foundation and operational expertise can undoubtedly reduce initial risks. It also allows Xtep to quickly test market response through the partner’s professional knowledge and execution capabilities, while observing consumer acceptance of sportswear brands venturing into coffee.
Currently, Xtep has not officially commented on the details of this collaboration model or whether it plans to launch standalone coffee stores in the future. However, based on market trends, Xtep may gradually integrate coffee offerings into more physical stores or decide whether to launch its own branded coffee outlets based on consumer feedback. For other sportswear brands interested in venturing into the coffee business, this collaboration model may offer a strategic direction worth considering.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
