On May 25, the Starbucks Mini Program Life Store quietly launched the "Manager Bear Town Series" clothing, including vests, T-shirts, jackets, etc. According to Starbucks Beijing’s official Weibo account, Starbucks’ “Manager Bear Town” limited series of apparel will be sold in designated stores starting from May 26. The clothing products launched this time are all designed around Starbucks' classic IP "Manager Bear", covering multiple categories such as work vests, embroidered T-shirts, hooded jackets, etc., with prices ranging from 279 yuan to 459 yuan.
Image source: Starbucks Beijing official Weibo
Among them, the work vest is priced at 399 yuan and is available in black and khaki styles. It is designed in a multi-pocket workwear style and matched with the iconic Mr. Bear cloth label; the embroidered T-shirt is priced at 279 yuan and is available in four colors: black, brown, orange and pink. Each piece has a different Mr. Bear IP image embroidered on the chest. In addition, there are also peripherals such as a hooded jacket priced at 459 yuan and a desktop titanium cup at 249 yuan. All products are marked "Random Style" and are available while supplies last.
Image source: Starbucks applet
According to the sales information of the Starbucks Mini Program Life Store, you can currently accumulate corresponding stars by purchasing these clothing products online. Among them, a 399 yuan work vest is expected to earn 7.9 stars, and a 279 yuan T-shirt is expected to earn 5.5 stars. Consumers need to place an order through the mini program and pick it up in the store. Express delivery is not supported, and the event time is limited to May 25.
A staff member of the Beijing Starbucks Sanlitun store told Jiemian News that starting from May 26, many Starbucks stores including the Sanlitun store will launch the above-mentioned new clothing products. There is no time limit for the event and it will be available while supplies last. This is also the first time Starbucks has sold apparel products in domestic stores. Due to store conditions, the store does not have a fitting room. If customers have questions about clothing sizes, styles, etc., they can directly consult the store staff.
Before starting to sell clothing products, Starbucks' peripheral products had always been mainly household items such as cups, mugs, and thermos mugs. These products attracted many consumers to buy them due to their co-branded IP and limited sales model. For example, the Harry Potter co-branded series launched in December 2025, limited edition mugs, co-branded bears and other products were quickly out of stock in stores in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai on the first day of sale.
Channel development business, including ready-to-drink, coffee retail, and peripheral/authorized products, maintains a very high growth rate among all Starbucks business categories. Starbucks' financial report for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 shows that channel development achieved revenue of US$530 million, a year-on-year surge of 39%, mainly driven by the hot sales of ready-to-drink products, peripheral/authorized products, and the expansion of retail channels outside stores.
In the second fiscal quarter, Starbucks achieved overall net revenue of US$9.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.4%, and an estimated US$9.14 billion; operating profit was US$828.1 million, a year-on-year increase of 38%, and an estimated US$757.7 million. Same-store sales increased by 6.2% during the period, and analysts expected a growth of 3.65%. Starbucks expects same-store sales to increase by at least 5% for the full year, compared with its previous forecast of at least 3% growth.
As of the end of the second fiscal quarter, Starbucks had a total of 41,129 stores worldwide, including 16,944 stores in the United States and 7,991 stores in China. The two places accounted for more than 60%.
Just in early April this year, the joint venture transaction between Starbucks China and Boyu Capital was officially completed. All approximately 8,000 Starbucks directly-operated stores in mainland China were integrated into the joint venture system, transforming into a light-asset franchise model. This is also the first time in many years since Starbucks entered the Chinese market that it has given up its controlling stake.
In November last year, Starbucks announced an agreement with Boyu to establish a joint venture to jointly operate Starbucks' retail business in the Chinese market. According to the agreement, Boyu will hold up to 60% of the equity of the joint venture, while Starbucks will retain 40% of the equity and will continue to be the owner and licensor of the Starbucks brand and intellectual property rights, licensing the newly established joint venture. Boyu will receive its corresponding equity based on an enterprise value of approximately US$4 billion (excluding cash and debt). The long-term goal shared by both parties is to eventually expand the number of stores to 20,000.
Starbucks China CEO Liu Wenjuan previously stated at a forum that capital inflow will not change Starbucks’ brand positioning. Currently, Starbucks has entered more than 1,000 county-level administrative districts. In the next three years, it will cover at least 1,500 county-level administrative districts. Even in Shanghai, a city with more than 1,000 stores, it has seen new blank business districts and opportunities.
Starbucks is currently facing fierce competition from domestic coffee chain brands. Local coffee brands such as Luckin and Cudi have expanded rapidly with low-price strategies, squeezing Starbucks' market share. Starbucks' unit price per customer has continued to decline in the past few quarters, and the overall quality of growth faces challenges.
In this context, Starbucks needs to expand single-store profitability by expanding new revenue channels. The gross profit margin of apparel products is usually higher than that of coffee drinks, and relying on brand IP can obtain higher premium space.
For consumers, Starbucks clothing products are more of a "brand peripheral" rather than just-needed clothing. The core motivation for purchasing comes from recognition of the Starbucks brand and love for IP. Judging from the feedback on social media, many consumers expressed that they were "willing to pay for the IP of Store Manager Xiong", but some consumers believed that "the price is too high and the price-performance ratio is not enough." This also means that Starbucks’ cross-border apparel business faces many uncertainties.