What Does the Nayuki Closure Wave Mean for Street Coffee?

Nayuki has closed 85 stores in the past 90 days, withdrawing its only outlets in cities such as Quzhou, Pingdingshan, Pingxiang, and Zhangjiagang. The closures have left customers in tier-2 and tier-3 cities unable to use their recharge balances locally and asking how refunds will be handled. Rising rents, profitability pressure, and a lack of standout products are among the reasons cited for the contraction.

For the coffee enthusiast watching the tea and coffee trade, the story is a familiar one: rapid expansion followed by pullback when unit economics fail. Nayuki is countering by expanding into Southeast Asia and reviving its baking business. How the brand handles prepaid balances during the retreat will shape consumer trust in similar chains and in street coffee retail more broadly.

Recently, many netizens have noticed that Nayuki stores in their cities have quietly closed down, from Quzhou to Pingdingshan, Pingxiang, Zhangjiagang, and other places, where the once-only stores have all been withdrawn. Data shows that Nayuki has closed 85 stores in the past 90 days, sparking consumer concerns about the handling of recharge funds and the brand's future. Some attribute it to rising rents and profitability pressures, while others point out that Nayuki lacks representative products. In the face of store contraction, Nayuki is still expanding into Southeast Asia and reviving its baking business, trying to turn the situation around. As coffee enthusiasts, Front Street Coffee pays attention to every change in the tea beverage and coffee market. This article will take you through the story behind Nayuki's store closure wave and the voices of users.

▲

Click to follow | Daily specialty coffee culture magazine Coffee Workshop

Recently, a netizen in Quzhou opened the Nayuki mini-program as usual to place an order, but unexpectedly found that the option for the Quzhou store was no longer available in the system.

At first, the netizen thought it was a system glitch, until she walked to the store entrance and was shocked to see that although the store lights were on, a handwritten "Temporarily Closed" sign was posted, and employees were busy packing up items inside to send away.

This sudden situation left the customer at a loss for a moment. She mentioned that this store was the only Nayuki in Quzhou, and once it closed, she would have to go to Nayuki stores in other cities in the future to spend the recharge balance in her account.

After the post was published, other Nayuki users in different regions, besides giving this consumer advice and suggesting she contact customer service for a refund, also lamented that Nayuki stores are becoming fewer and fewer.

A user in Pingdingshan, Henan Province, recently discovered that the only local Nayuki store was already closed on both the Nayuki mini-program and Amap; a netizen in Pingxiang, Jiangxi Province, posted a photo of Nayuki taken as they passed by, helplessly saying that they would no longer be able to drink Nayuki in Pingxiang; a consumer in Zhangjiagang also shared a photo taken last November, saying that the only remaining Nayuki in Zhangjiagang had also withdrawn...

Nayuki fans in Tai'an, Shandong, Urumqi, Xinjiang, Suzhou, Jiangsu, and other places have also successively posted about recently closed Nayuki stores in their areas. They said that Nayuki seems to have started closing stores in second- and third-tier cities one after another since last winter.

As for the reasons for the closures, some users speculate that it is related to rising rents and the brand no longer renewing leases for stores in commercial districts. Others believe that stores in second- and third-tier cities have weaker profitability, and Nayuki chose to close some stores to cut losses in time.

According to data from Jihai Brand Monitoring, Nayuki currently has 1,801 stores still in operation. In the past 90 days, although 10 new stores were opened, 85 were closed at the same time. From this perspective, the fans' feeling that "Nayuki stores are decreasing" is not an illusion.

Regarding Nayuki's current situation, netizens have different views. Some bluntly said that although Nayuki had 33 collaborations last year, the continuous activities and merchandise can only bring short-term attention to the brand and cannot improve the long-term sluggish situation of the stores. Other fans helplessly pointed out that in the tea beverage industry, Chagee has Boya Juexian, Heytea has Fiber Bottle, but when it comes to Nayuki, it is hard to think of a household-name "signature product."

Long-time users who have accompanied Nayuki for many years said that after the company gave up its freshly made European bread business due to operating costs, Nayuki lost its impressive flagship product, so much so that when passersby think of the brand, they can only remember the conspicuous green logo but cannot name any product.

As netizens said, considering market layout, profit and loss conditions, and other factors, Nayuki closing some stores can actually be seen as a very common decision in management and operations. Not long ago, the brand expanded into Southeast Asia and opened a store in Bangkok, Thailand, and then successively opened directly operated baking stores, returning to its old business. These measures are enough to make fans not worry about the future of the "first milk tea stock."

However, loyal users said that although they can understand the company's operating strategy, when Nayuki completely withdraws from a certain city, it should inform local consumers in advance through official channels, so that they can plan to empty their recharge amounts and properly say goodbye to an important old store.

Image source: Internet

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

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