What does the Nanning Tims opening say about the china coffee market?

Tims China opened its first Nanning store in Guangxi on December 16, offering buy-one-get-one-free drinks, a Farmer's Wrap for one extra yuan, and giveaways including cups, fridge magnets and tote bags. Consumers began lining up at 7 a.m. and number tags ran out within 20 minutes, prompting online doubts about paid queue members.

The cup rules drew the most attention: the first ten queue positions received a Nanning limited-edition city cup with any purchase, and positions 11 to 310 received a red maple engraved mug. The cold-weather turnout and the shill accusations reflect how brand openings in non-first-tier cities lean on limited merchandise to pull crowds.

On December 16, Tims China opened its first store in Nanning, Guangxi, launching opening activities such as buy-one-get-one-free, add 1 yuan to get a Farmer's Wrap, and giving away limited-edition cups, attracting a large number of consumers to line up in the cold weather. The queue began gathering at 7 a.m., and number tags were distributed within 20 minutes, sparking netizens' doubts about "shills." This article reviews the event rules, on-site queue conditions, netizen comments, and similar marketing phenomena of the brand in non-first-tier cities, and includes related recommendations from Front Street Coffee.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

"It's snowing in Guangdong!" "Look! It's snowing in Guangxi!" As the cold wave "pushes for year-end performance," with a "spend 30, get 15 off" style temperature drop, the Guangdong-Guangxi region switched to deep-freeze mode overnight. The handsome guys and pretty girls in both places finally succeeded in entering winter this weekend, putting on their long-unworn heavy cotton jackets and long johns.

On such a day when even sticking a hand out of the quilt requires courage, sleeping warm and cozy until you wake up naturally is undoubtedly the most pleasant thing. But on Saturday, multiple netizens noticed that in front of a Tims in Nanning, before the store had even opened, a magical long queue had formed. "This is too much, a long line already at 9 a.m.," "Nanning Tims queue is insane," "You guys really aren't afraid of the cold"... It's not hard to guess that this wave of queuing was still for the giveaways.

Not long ago, Tims China's official WeChat posted that the brand would open its first store in Nanning, Guangxi, on December 16. To celebrate the new store's opening, Tims previewed in the post that there would be multiple gift-giving segments on the opening day of the Nanning store, including buy-one-get-one-free, add 1 yuan to buy a Farmer's Wrap, and giveaways of cups, fridge magnets, tote bags, and other merchandise. Among them, the two cup giveaway rules—"Queue positions 1-10, any purchase gets 1 Nanning limited-edition city cup; queue positions 11-310, any purchase gets 1 Tims red maple engraved mug"—attracted the most attention.

According to multiple netizens who recorded the queue on site, because this day was the new store's opening event, Tims did not open online ordering channels. Customers could only line up at the store to get a "number tag of love," then order and consume on site to redeem gifts. In other words, if you wanted a free cup, it was first come, first served.

Although the store's official opening time was 10 a.m. and number tags only began to be distributed after 9:40, how could the well-prepared "freebie hunters" be late? Before 9 a.m., the line had already curved around a corner. Around 9:30, the crowd had formed four full rows, and the number tags were fully distributed within 20 minutes. The top ten at the front of the line said they had arrived at 7 a.m. to secure the advantage.

Seeing the exaggerated queue at Tims' Nanning branch this time, many netizens suspected they might be "shills" hired by the merchant. After all, stores of this brand in other cities had not seen such long queues, and the coffee's taste was not outstanding either. Even if it was to take advantage of the opening promotion, standing in the bitter cold with a perceived temperature of only 8°C for an hour or even longer would freeze anyone silly. Besides, the cup required a purchase to obtain, so after waiting in a long line you still had to spend money—too not worth it.

In response, some locals explained that in fact, when many outside brands first arrive in local commercial districts, things always get "as lively as Chinese New Year." Add to that the temptation of free gifts, and it is normal for people to flock to line up on opening day. So if it were not for the free cups, one could simply wait until the hype died down before visiting. Regarding the claim of "fake queuing," one "freebie hunter" with unwavering determination denied it righteously: "I'm just a poor college student who wants to grab a cup and still has to queue and stand in the cold wind for hours. I'm really not a shill."

In fact, since the beginning of this year, apart from Nanning, Guangxi, whenever Tims opened its first store in other non-first-tier cities, long queues also appeared. The marketing team sends out previews of the brand's opening activities in advance, while also posting on social platforms to warm things up. By the official opening day, the crowd attracted by the "free mug" would coincidentally gather on site, hoping to "score" the freebie, ultimately bringing quite a bit of real popularity to the brand's opening as well.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

Disclaimer: Some images in this article are from the internet. For some content on the website, such as images, we will respect the original copyright and indicate the source. However, due to the large quantity, a few images and texts may not have been credited in time. Please understand. If the original author has any dispute, they may contact the website for handling. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. Compiled and edited by "Coffee Workshop." Please indicate the source when reposting. If there is infringement, please inform us for deletion. Thank you~!

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.