CHAGEE Faces Boycotts in Vietnam and Malaysia Over Map Labeling: How Store Operations Are Holding Up
Recently, a background image in Chagee's app containing a nine-dash line map sparked boycotts in Vietnam and Malaysia. Vietnam removed the app and dismantled the signboard of its first store in Ho Chi Minh City. Malaysian netizens joined after seeing the same issue. Although the brand deleted the image, public anger persists. Unlike Starbucks boycotts elsewhere, Chagee's offline stores in Kuala Lumpur still see steady delivery orders.
On Monday, Chagee replaced its app background with a map marked by the nine-dash line to comply with Chinese regulations, prompting protests from Vietnamese netizens. The first store in Ho Chi Minh City removed all signage, and local officials launched an investigation. When Malaysian users noticed the same element, boycotts spread there too. Despite the controversy, delivery orders at Kuala Lumpur stores remain consistent, suggesting limited operational impact so far.
Recently, a background image in the app of Chagee containing a nine-dash line map triggered a wave of boycotts by netizens in Vietnam and Malaysia. Vietnam not only removed the app but also dismantled the signboard of its first store in Ho Chi Minh City; after Malaysian netizens discovered the same issue, they also joined the criticism. Although the brand has deleted the disputed image, the public opinion storm has not yet subsided. It is worth noting that, unlike brands such as Starbucks, which have been boycotted over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and forced to close many stores, Chagee's offline stores in Kuala Lumpur still have stable delivery orders. This article will sort out the course of the incident and its actual impact on the brand's operations.
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On Monday of this week, in order to comply with China's current regulations, Chagee used a map marked with the nine-dash line as a background in its app, which immediately provoked intense protests from Vietnamese netizens and triggered a wave of boycotts on local social platforms.
Affected by this, all brand signage has been removed from the exterior of Chagee's first store in downtown Ho Chi Minh City and replaced with dark green construction barriers. According to security personnel at nearby shops, the store's signboard was removed not long after the boycott began.
On March 20, Ho Chi Minh City officials confirmed at a press conference that an investigation procedure had been launched against the company over the matter. In addition, Vietnam's state-owned newspaper Lao Dong reported that authorities will also investigate an image circulating online of a Chagee brand badge, which is suspected to feature a pattern of the mausoleum of former Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh, but the accompanying text is alleged to contain false content.
However, although Chagee removed the app involved in the controversy after it escalated, the app can still be downloaded normally in other Southeast Asian countries. As a result, some Malaysian netizens also noticed the same element appearing in the background image of the app they use, which in turn triggered boycott sentiment among local netizens.
Facing strong criticism from netizens, the brand has removed this background image from the app, but this move has hardly calmed public opinion. However, when local reporters visited Chagee stores in the Kuala Lumpur area, they found that not many customers were buying drinks directly in stores, but delivery orders continued to pour in, and overall store business remained stable.
Previously, U.S. chain brands such as Starbucks and McDonald's were boycotted by Malaysian people over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and this boycott wave is still dragging down the brands' performance in the local consumer market. Among them, at least 50 Starbucks stores in Malaysia have ceased operations and closed due to spontaneous public boycotts.
By contrast, although Malaysian netizens continue to voice boycotts of Chagee on social media, current conditions show that online public opinion has not yet caused a significant impact on its offline store operations.
Because Chagee complied with Chinese legal requirements and used the domestic official version of the map as a background in its promotions in Vietnam, it was collectively boycotted by Vietnamese netizens, resulting in the app being removed and a store that was more than halfway through renovation being dismantled. Now it has also been innocently boycotted by Malaysian users in posts. This unreasonable fuss has brought serious losses to the business.
Image source: online screenshot
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