By QIN Siyue

Chinese sneaker maker Xtep registered a coffeehouse trademark “XTEP COFFEE” on Tuesday. 

In the first half of the year, Xtep’s revenue grew 37.4 percent to 5.7 billion yuan (US$810 million) and its net profit rose 39.7 percent to 590 million yuan. With such good numbers despite lockdowns, it is not surprising that Xtep is looking for more possibilities in the coffee business. Many peers have already opened their cafes.

Li-Ning launched its “Ning Coffee” brand in April. Customers can have a cup of coffee while browsing the sportswear in Li-Ning stores. On the Instagram-like platform Xiaohongshu, there are more than 3,000 posts on Ning Coffee. The company said coffee makes customers more comfortable.

According to iiMedia Research, the coffee business in China was worth 380 billion yuan, last year, and is expected to reach a trillion yuan in 2025.

Both Xtep and Li-Ning have more than 6,000 brick-and-mortar stores in China, but whether coffee will bring more traffic, and more importantly, more profit, remains to be seen.