Introduction:Once hailed as China's "first new tea drink stock," Nayuki has accumulated losses of up to RMB 1.465 billion to RMB 1.555 billion in just four years, and recently there have been frequent reports of its stores quietly closing in multiple cities across the country such as Xi’an, Changsha, and Tai’an. Is it due to rising rents, changing consumer trends, or brand strategy adjustments? This article takes an in-depth look at the operational challenges Nayuki is facing and explores how it might seek a breakthrough in the highly competitive tea drink market.
Walking into major shopping malls, Nayuki stores that once occupied prime locations and attracted attention with their green signs have now disappeared in some cities. According to multiple consumers, Nayuki stores in Xi’an, Changsha, Dalian, Jining, and Tai’an in Shandong Province have successively closed, with the closure in Tai’an, Shandong representing the brand’s complete withdrawal from that local market.
On social platforms, many netizens have shared that familiar large retail spaces previously occupied by Nayuki have been taken over by other brands, with the once prominent green logo completely gone. In fact, this wave of store closures did not happen suddenly — signs of it had already emerged by the end of last year, when multiple stores were quietly removed from the official mini program. By the time customers arrived at the location, they often only saw new brands under renovation.
Among the stores closed this time are not only city flagship stores that had been open for less than a year, but also mature outlets that had been operating for many years, andmost of them are directly operated brand stores.Some analyses suggest that reasons for the closures include common factors such as lease expirations and rent increases, while others believe Nayuki is proactively adjusting by shrinking its directly operated scale to reduce operating costs.
However, what has shocked the market even more than the store closures is the sharp decline in Nayuki’s stock price recently. Compared to its initial public offering price of HK$19.8 per share at the time of listing, the current stock price has plummeted by more than 90%,a drop of 93.4%.Its market value has also shrunk from a peak of HK$30 billion to just HK$2.2 billion.
On March 10 of this year, the adjustment list for the Stock Connect scheme officially took effect, and Nayuki was removed from the Stock Connect list. Although industry insiders explained that this move does not necessarily indicate that the company is facing a serious financial crisis, the news still dealt a further blow to its stock price and deepened external doubts about the brand’s future development.
Looking back to 2021, Nayuki successfully went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with the title of “China's first new tea drink stock,” attracting significant attention from investors at the time and being seen as a leader in the tea drink market. However, its performance after going public fell short of expectations. Over the past four years,it recorded only one year of marginal profit,while the rest of the time was spent in the red, with cumulative losses amounting to between RMB 1.465 billion and RMB 1.555 billion.
Not only has its financial performance been poor, but Nayuki has also noticeably slowed its pace of store expansion. While its competitors actively expanded their number of stores, Nayuki chose to scale back, shutting down some outlets in high-rent areas to minimize losses. This strategic shift has caused many long-term supporters of the brand to become concerned about its future direction.
However, some observers remain cautiously optimistic about Nayuki’s future. With growing consumer awareness of health, Nayuki has gradually introduced new product lines such as fresh juices and light meals, attempting to meet diverse market demands.Image source: Internet screenshot Perhaps through continuous product innovation and market segmentation, Nayuki still has the opportunity to find new growth opportunities in the fiercely competitive new tea drink market and reverse its current disadvantages.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
