From niche collectibles like Labubu dolls to rapidly expanding food and beverage enterprises such as Luckin Coffee, a new generation of Chinese retail brands is wagering heavily on the possibility that American shoppers can provide the growth momentum increasingly absent at home. Their strategy is not merely about exporting products; it is centered on crafting deep cultural resonance paired with competitive pricing models designed to captivate consumer attention in the world’s most dynamic retail environment.
According to an extensive analysis conducted by Business Insider, the most prominent players in China’s consumer retail landscape are pursuing cross-border expansion with a calculated focus on physical store locations. These companies are not simply content with online engagement or digital storefronts; instead, they are opening brick-and-mortar outlets across major U.S. cities in an attempt to solidify their presence, build brand prestige, and create immersive consumer experiences akin to what made them resonate domestically. This ambition draws inspiration from phenomena such as the viral popularity of collectible Labubu figures, which in recent months have ignited online frenzies, with enthusiasts going to remarkable lengths—sometimes waiting for hours or paying inflated resale prices—just to secure ownership of a single figurine.
Evidence of this strategy is particularly visible in New York City, where, based on Business Insider’s review of company announcements and corporate websites, no fewer than twenty distinct Chinese retail chains have collectively inaugurated more than forty stores over the last two years. These establishments span across diverse verticals including fashion, beverages, and food services. Remarkably, this market entry and expansion has taken place even against the backdrop of an ongoing U.S.–China trade war, a geopolitical reality that has not dissuaded brands from pressing forward. Instead, many appear emboldened, convinced that the rewards of tapping into the U.S. retail landscape outweigh the risks.
In pursuit of insights into their broader intentions, Business Insider focused on six representative names currently gaining traction in the United States. These include Pop Mart, the toy company behind Labubu’s global craze; Miniso, a lifestyle and home-goods retailer celebrated for its affordable trinkets and character-based plush toys; Haidilao, the famed Sichuan hotpot chain; Luckin Coffee, positioning itself directly against Starbucks with an aggressive pricing and quality equation; Chagee, a contemporary tea brand recently listed on the New York Stock Exchange; and Urban Revivo, a fashion company often described as the Asian counterpart to Zara. Requests for official comments from these companies went unanswered, yet their rapid physical expansion speaks volumes about their strategic intent.
Take the example of Luckin Coffee. This brand made its much-anticipated entrance into the U.S. by opening two flagship stores in New York City in June. The opening immediately captured media headlines, positioning Luckin not as a peripheral player but as an emergent challenger to America’s coffee giants. Founded in 2017, Luckin achieved meteoric expansion within China through aggressive coupon-driven marketing, creating a massive store network at record speed. By 2023, it had even surpassed Starbucks in total domestic sales, a symbolic conquest that highlighted both consumer receptivity and competitive ferocity. As Russell Winer, marketing professor emeritus at New York University’s Stern School of Business, observed after returning from Shanghai, Luckin considers Starbucks especially vulnerable to attacks from below. Its strategic positioning is carefully calculated: offer quality beverages at considerably lower prices than Starbucks while outpacing budget brands like Dunkin’, thereby targeting the middle ground of affordability and desirability.
This aggressive pursuit of international territory is largely propelled by stagnation within China’s internal demand cycle. Official statistics reveal that in July, Chinese consumer prices exhibited no measurable year-over-year growth, while producer prices nosedived by 3.6 percent, marking a continuation of a downward trend. Such indicators underscore a cooling domestic market where cautious consumer behavior and heightened price sensitivity have triggered widespread price wars among retail brands, particularly in food and drink segments. Although consumer traffic may remain relatively stable thanks to discounts, genuine revenue growth within China has become elusive. Consequently, diversification into overseas markets has shifted from an option into a strategic imperative.
Traditionally, Southeast Asia has functioned as the first steppingstone for Chinese companies seeking to internationalize. Its geographic proximity, lower operating costs, and cultural affinity with mainland Chinese consumers have made it an attractive launchpad. Chagee, for instance, opened its first international tea shop in Malaysia in 2019 and subsequently expanded across more than 150 overseas establishments prior to venturing into the United States. Apparel label Urban Revivo similarly anchored itself in the region, operating hundreds of outlets before taking the bold leap into New York City’s trend-conscious SoHo neighborhood earlier this year. Nevertheless, the current trend has shifted toward a more accelerated pace of U.S. entry, with beverage-focused names such as Luckin Coffee, Cotti Coffee, and Mollytea all arriving in New York within only two years of crossing borders for the first time.
The United States presents not only elevated challenges but also unparalleled financial opportunities. Consider Din Tai Fung, the Taiwanese restaurant chain renowned for its Xiaolongbao dumplings. Since entering the American market in 2000, it has achieved striking profitability, claiming the highest revenue-per-restaurant average in the nation by 2023, with $27.4 million earned per location according to data from Technomic. These figures illustrate why the U.S. is so compelling: vibrant consumer spending and immense market size generate prospects that dwarf those available in Asia or Europe.
The success stories serve as powerful magnets enticing newer entrants. Pop Mart, for example, has already projected profit growth of at least 350 percent globally for the first half of 2025, driven partly by its overseas expansion. Similarly, Miniso recently reported that revenue from North American operations now exceeds the combined total of all its other Asian international divisions—a reflection of the region’s unrivaled capacity to absorb new ideas and trends.
Yet despite these opportunities, the path is paved with formidable complications. As Professor Winer emphasized, successful integration into the American market requires more than opening storefronts; it necessitates well-orchestrated brand building, differentiated distribution strategies, and precisely calibrated marketing campaigns. Additional obstacles arise in the supply chain context. Food and beverage purveyors, for instance, must navigate the complexities of ingredient sourcing in the U.S., where disparate state-level regulations regarding food additives, quality assurance, and safety testing can impede efforts to maintain product consistency. Often these companies must lean heavily on locally sourced substitutes, which, while pragmatic, can result in subtle differences in taste profiles compared to their Chinese originals.
Furthermore, ongoing trade tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to cast uncertainty, with tariffs on U.S. imports of Chinese goods—sometimes as steep as 145 percent—threatening cost structures and eroding competitiveness. In response, many Chinese brands have accelerated their store openings, hoping that increased scale can help streamline operations and offset pricing pressures. Miniso, for example, now maintains a global footprint more than five times larger than its Japanese rival Muji, and has publicly disclosed that nearly one-quarter of its procurement now comes from suppliers located outside China. Likewise, Pop Mart, Luckin Coffee, and Urban Revivo are racing to expand internationally in order to close the gap with global titans in their respective sectors.
A notable earlier wave of Chinese globalization was defined by e-commerce players, exemplified most recently by the platform Temu, which entered the U.S. in 2022 and rapidly became synonymous with inexpensive, mass-produced goods. By contrast, today’s retail entrants are distinguishing themselves not only through price but through innovation and cultural adaptability. They employ strategies such as crafting exclusive flavor profiles tailored to local palates, experimenting with inventive payment mechanisms, and deploying social media campaigns engineered for virality on platforms like TikTok. Luckin Coffee exemplifies this evolution. While it continues to use promotional tactics familiar to its domestic consumer base, it also invests heavily in co-branding collaborations and influencer partnerships in the U.S. to create buzzworthy products designed to resonate with younger demographics.
Ultimately, however, the decisive factor may be far simpler: value. U.S. consumers, as Winer reminds us, are fundamentally motivated by the timeless formula of quality at the right price. Whether a product’s origins lie in China or elsewhere is becoming increasingly irrelevant in a retail culture where price-performance balance is paramount. In this new era, the phrase ‘Made in China’ is acquiring fresh connotations—less about low-cost manufacturing and more about brands that are ambitious, culturally attuned, and unafraid to challenge entrenched global players.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-retail-brands-labubu-luckin-expand-us-open-stores-data-2025-8
