The world's largest bubble-tea chain opened 9 HK stores — then closed 5 in a year

Mixue (蜜雪冰城, stock code 2097) is the world's largest bubble-tea chain by store count, a mainland giant built on a famous low-price model. In late 2023 it pushed into Hong Kong with the same playbook — heavy discounting and rapid expansion — and within its first year had opened nine branches, including two Mong Kok shops only about 300 metres apart.

Hong Kong's cost structure did not bend for the model. In the twelve months to mid-2026 the chain closed at least five stores, including branches in Tsim Sha Tsui, Yuen Long, Sha Tin (Shek Mun) and Tsuen Wan (Nina Tower), ending with the quiet vacating of its Mong Kok 兆萬中心 ground-floor unit in 2026.

The rents made the arithmetic brutal. The 兆萬中心 shop, about 824 sq ft leased in 2024 at roughly HK$190,000 a month (about HK$231 per sq ft), was shuttered. The closed Nathan Road store carried a monthly rent of HK$288,000 — media calculated that at HK$9 a cup, it needed to sell roughly 32,000 cups a month just to cover the rent, before labour, ingredients and logistics.

By mid-2026 Mixue was down to roughly five stores in Hong Kong, a visible retreat for a chain whose mainland success is built on scale and razor-thin margins. The low-price model that conquered the mainland met a market where a single shop's rent could demand tens of thousands of cheap cups a month.