What Went Wrong for the Specialty Coffee Brand Seesaw?

Seesaw, once a leading specialty coffee brand in China, has hit a run of setbacks. Its last Chengdu store was forced out after the mall terminated the lease early, with a notice citing early termination and urging customers to settle stored-value balances. A former employee won a labor arbitration over illegal dismissal, the founder was again restricted from high consumption, and company equity was frozen with court-enforced debts.

The employee case began last October, when HR reportedly offered one month's salary to resign; the offer was refused and the company terminated the contract by email. Arbitration supported the employee, but the company delayed payment and appealed. For a brand once favored by capital, the combination of lease exits, legal claims and frozen equity marks its darkest period and raises questions about specialty coffee expansion in China.

Seesaw, once hailed as one of the representative specialty coffee brands in China, has recently suffered a series of setbacks. Its last store in Chengdu was forced out after the mall terminated the lease early; employees exposed illegal dismissal and successfully defended their rights through legal channels; the founder was once again restricted from high consumption due to contract disputes; and the company's equity was frozen with debts enforced by the courts. A string of negative news has plunged this coffee brand, once favored by capital, into its darkest hour. This article will sort through the sequence of events and present the operational and legal difficulties Seesaw currently faces.

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Recently, a netizen from Sichuan passing by Chengdu Mofang Shopping Center noticed that in the former Seesaw store, staff were busy moving equipment out, and the scene was in disarray. According to the netizen, this store was Seesaw's last outlet in Chengdu, and with its sudden closure, Seesaw is no longer present anywhere in Chengdu.

Notably, the mall management posted a notice in a prominent spot at the store entrance, clearly stating that the reason for Seesaw's withdrawal was that "the lessee will early terminate the Mall Lease Contract signed with our company." The mall also urged consumers and suppliers to contact Seesaw Coffee personnel as soon as possible to properly handle matters such as stored-value balances and financial settlements.

Around the same time, a former employee who had worked at Seesaw for three years shared online his experience of being illegally dismissed and his arduous journey to defend his rights. According to him, in October last year, the company's HR department initially tried to persuade him to resign voluntarily, promising one month's salary as compensation. The employee did not accept this proposal, and as a result, the company directly and unilaterally terminated his employment relationship via email.

(Image from Xiaohongshu account @无敌钢铁)

After being illegally dismissed, the employee immediately began collecting relevant evidence and filed for labor arbitration to defend his lawful rights. Although the arbitration ruling supported the employee's claims, the company delayed fulfilling its compensation obligations and instead appealed to the court to postpone payment of the compensation.

(Image from Xiaohongshu account @无敌钢铁)

Fortunately, the worker whom the company took to court recently won the lawsuit, and Seesaw failed to overturn the labor arbitration ruling through its appeal. The employee also revealed that since the company still refused to pay the compensation after the first-instance judgment, he had already applied to the court for compulsory enforcement and is currently waiting for the court to enforce the payment so he can recover the economic compensation that is rightfully his.

(Image from Xiaohongshu account @无敌钢铁)

These two online posts quickly drew widespread attention and discussion among onlookers. Some people familiar with the matter revealed that the founder of Seesaw was recently once again restricted from high consumption due to a contract dispute, attaching as evidence a consumption restriction order issued by the Shanghai Fengxian District People's Court on January 14, 2025.

In addition, many users learned through various online channels that Seesaw had recently been subject to court enforcement for two substantial debts, and the company's equity is currently frozen by the court due to economic disputes.

Screenshots circulating on social platforms left many netizens who care about Seesaw's recent situation deeply surprised and worried. Looking back, Seesaw was once regarded as one of the benchmark brands of domestic specialty coffee, attracting a large number of loyal fans who made special trips to visit, and was also highly sought after by investors, successfully securing capital injections.

However, within just one week, the brand founder was twice restricted from high consumption, the company's equity was frozen, a store was forced out by the mall, and the illegal dismissal of an employee was exposed. Seesaw is undoubtedly going through its most difficult moment. Many people lamented that they had expected Seesaw, after obtaining financing, to rely on its own advantages to establish a firm foothold in the domestic coffee market, but unexpectedly the brand began to decline before reaching its peak.

Nevertheless, although the plight of this domestic specialty coffee "veteran" is lamentable, most people still believe that even with heavy debts, the brand should properly handle all aftermath matters and make a graceful exit, rather than adding more economic disputes to its troubles.

Image source: Internet

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