Helens Chinese Trademark Invalid and Market Cap Plunge: Why Young People No Longer Pay
Have you been to Helen's? This Chinese pub, known as 'the first bistro for young people,' recently lost its Chinese name. The three Chinese trademarks 'Helensi', 'Helensi Bistro', and 'Helensi Yue Da Paidang' were ruled invalid by final court judgment.
However, compared to 'losing the Chinese name,' the bigger crisis for Helens may be that it is being abandoned by the young people it once represented.
Helens' Trademark Defense
Founded in 2009, Helens first opened in a remote shop at Wudaokou, Beijing, adjacent to Tsinghua and Peking University. The founder is Xu Bingzhong, a veteran born in the 1970s. He mentioned in an interview that at the beginning, they mainly targeted the foreign market, such as overseas students.
Perhaps for this reason, Helens initially used English trademarks like 'Helen's' and applied for a batch of related English trademarks in 2013, but its core Chinese trademarks were not registered until 2018, laying a hidden risk for subsequent trademark crises.
According to reports, the trademark dispute over 'Helensi' mainly occurred between Chengdu Helen Binjin Hotel Co., Ltd. and Helens. The former successfully registered two 'Helen' trademarks in 2016 covering restaurant and bar services in Class 43, and filed invalidation requests against the 'Helensi' trademark in May 2023 and the 'Helensi Bistro' and 'Helensi Yue Da Paidang' trademarks in August 2024 with the National Intellectual Property Administration, claiming that the disputed trademarks were similar to the two 'Helen' cited trademarks in similar services, likely causing public confusion about service sources.
After a three-year tug-of-war, on the evening of June 25, Helens announced that the three Chinese trademarks 'Helensi', 'Helensi Bistro', and 'Helensi Yue Da Paidang' were ruled invalid by final court judgment. The announcement stated that based on current assessment, the dispute has no material impact on the group's overall business, daily operations, or financial condition, as the group can continue using its undisputed trademarks in daily business.
As of now, Helens' offline stores and online communications still use its Chinese name 'Helensi' and related expressions. The impact has not yet affected specific stores, but the capital market is more sensitive than physical stores.
After the news, the stock price opened lower on June 26, falling over 6% intraday. By the close, Helens' stock price fell to HK$1.58. Helens was once worth HK$30 billion at the time of its IPO, while its current market cap is only HK$2 billion, a collapse of over 90%.
'The First Bistro for Young People' Is No Longer Young
Helens' earliest stores were located around university districts, with the main customer base being foreigners and overseas students. Later, founder Xu Bingzhong changed the strategy, positioning Helens as a 'space for young people to freely communicate offline,' while offering 'extreme cost performance.' All bottled beer at Helens sells for under 10 yuan, and cocktails are just over 20 yuan.
The 'young people + cost performance' model was successfully replicated. By the end of 2021, Helens had 782 stores. That year, Helens also debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with the halo of 'China's largest chain bistro.'
According to Helens' 2021 prospectus, revenue from 2018 to 2020 was RMB 115 million, 565 million, and 818 million respectively, with net profits of RMB 9.734 million, 79.136 million, and 70.072 million. Despite selling beverages at low prices, this did not mean they were unprofitable.
The prospectus showed that own-brand beverages with margins above 70% contributed over 60% of beverage revenue. Leveraging factory-direct procurement and economies of scale, Helens also obtained relatively favorable purchase prices for third-party brand beverages.
Thus, one of Helens' advantages lies in scale. However, rapid expansion also brought rising store costs. Combined with factors such as the pandemic, Helens posted a net loss of RMB 230 million in 2021; the loss widened to RMB 1.601 billion the following year.
After cumulative losses exceeding RMB 1.8 billion, Helens began to close stores. Financial data shows that by the end of 2023, Helens had 479 stores, down 288 from a year earlier, a decline of over 40% from the peak of over 850 stores.
At the same time, Helens initiated a strategic transformation from a fully direct-operated model to open franchising, i.e., the 'Happy Beer Partner' program. The initial investment threshold for the program started at a minimum of RMB 600,000. However, by 2024, the threshold for new store types was lowered to around RMB 400,000, reflecting Helens' pressure to rapidly expand and improve operating conditions.
Bistros Everywhere, Helens' Business Becomes Difficult
These transformation measures had an effect. According to the 2025 financial report, Helens' annual revenue was RMB 540 million, down 28.3% year-on-year; net profit attributable to the parent was RMB 33.954 million, turning a profit. The share of own-brand beverage revenue and gross margin improved year-on-year, with store-level contribution gross margin increasing to 73.77%, and overall operations improving.
However, Helens still faces the stark reality of declining daily sales per store.
In 2025, the average daily sales of Helens' direct-operated and licensed cooperative stores in the same store was RMB 8,500, down over 18% year-on-year; the overall average daily sales per partner store was only RMB 4,100, with all store types experiencing declines. In the catering industry where daily revenue per store often exceeds 10,000 yuan, the franchise store model that is Helens' mainstay earns far too little. More notably, nearly 70% of Helens' stores are in third-tier and below cities, where profitability objectively faces pressure.
On the other hand, with so many places for young people to drink nowadays, the appeal of low prices is weakening. Jianji McEye shows that over the past year, the number of newly opened pubs reached 38,000. From Homebars, craft beer pubs, livehouse-style pubs to various bistros, consumption scenarios are diversifying.
Among them, the 'food + drink' bistro has risen strongly. The brand Huanshi, operating in this segment, is developing aggressively; its parent company Jiwu Siwei submitted a prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January this year. Currently, Huanshi has over 100 stores in China, with company revenue exceeding RMB 1 billion in 2024.
Compared to Helens, which opened the market with low prices and scale, Huanshi takes a different path. Its environment is more atmospheric, and product pricing is higher, with per capita spending exceeding RMB 100. On social platforms, many netizens' impression of Huanshi includes its 'beautiful food.' The prospectus disclosed that its average daily sales per store in the first nine months of 2025 was RMB 29,880.
Unlike traditional bar/pub formats, Huanshi extends operating hours to over 18 hours by offering brunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and evening drinks, thus improving single-store efficiency and profitability. In the nine months ended September 30, 2025, beverages and drinks contributed about 45% of revenue, of which 85% were alcoholic beverages. During the same period, Huanshi's overall gross margin was stable at 68.7%, higher than the industry average.
However, Huanshi also has its own challenges. High store costs squeeze profits, and consumer complaints about taste and quality can affect brand reputation.
A food industry analyst believes that like the coffee market, there is room for low-, mid-, and high-end brands in the pub market. Different pricing tiers will all have a place. Pubs are increasingly sought after by the younger generation, so this format is in a period of rapid expansion, but overall concentration is low. Perhaps after another five years, with capital push and consumption dividends, head brands and a clear competitive landscape will emerge.
Product pricing is not the only key factor affecting brand trajectory. The hardcore factors determining the future of pub business are mainly brand effect, scale effect, fan effect, supply chain completeness, and single-store operation capability. Since each store is in a different location, strategies should also be differentiated.
For Helens and its peers, how to run each store well may be the biggest challenge.
