Helens Chinese Trademark Invalidated Triggers Market Cap Plunge
Have you ever been to Helen's? Known as "the first tavern for young people," Chinese tavern Helens recently lost its "Chinese name." Three Chinese trademarks, "Helens," "Helens Tavern," and "Helens Big Pai Dong," were ruled invalid by the final court judgment.
But compared to losing its Chinese name, a bigger crisis for Helens might be that it, once a symbol of youth, is being abandoned by young people.
Helens' Trademark Defense Battle
Founded in 2009, Helens first opened near Wudaokou in Beijing, founded by Xu Bingzhong, a veteran in his 70s who retired from the military. In the early days, it mainly targeted the foreign market, such as overseas students.
According to reports, 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 hidden risks.
<\/figure>The trademark dispute mainly arose between Chengdu Helen Binfen Hotel Co., Ltd. and Helens. The former successfully registered two "Hai Lun" trademarks in 2016, covering restaurant and bar services in Class 43, and subsequently filed invalidation requests against the "Helens" trademark on May 23, 2023, and against "Helens Tavern" and "Helens Big Pai Dong" trademarks on August 7, 2024, claiming that the disputed trademarks were similar to the cited trademarks for similar services, likely causing confusion or misidentification among relevant consumers regarding the source of services.
After a three-year tug-of-war, on the evening of June 25, Helens announced that the above three Chinese trademarks were ruled invalid by the final court judgment. The announcement pointed out that based on current assessment, the dispute has no significant impact on the group's overall business, daily operations, or financial condition, and the group can continue to use undisputed trademarks in its daily business.
<\/figure>An inquiry by Blue Whale News reporters showed that as of now, Helens' offline stores and online promotions still use the Chinese name "Helens" and related expressions. The impact has not yet affected specific stores, but it is more sensitive to the capital market.
After the news, the stock price opened lower on June 26, falling over 6% at one point during the day. By the close of trading, Helens' stock price had dropped to HK$1.58. Helens' market cap once reached HK$30 billion in the year of its listing, but now it is only HK$2 billion, shrinking by over 90%.
"The First Tavern for Young People" Is No Longer Young
Helens' earliest stores were located near university areas, primarily targeting foreigners and international students. Founder Xu Bingzhong later changed strategy, positioning Helens as a "space for young people to freely socialize offline" and emphasizing "extreme cost-effectiveness." Bottled beers were all priced under 10 yuan, with cocktails slightly more expensive, around 20 yuan.
<\/figure>The "young people + cost-effectiveness" model was replicated. According to public information, by the end of 2021, Helens had 782 stores, and that year it listed on the Hong Kong stock market under the halo of "the largest chain tavern in China."
Helens' 2021 prospectus shows that from 2018 to 2020, its revenue was 115 million yuan, 565 million yuan, and 818 million yuan, respectively; net profit was 9.734 million yuan, 79.136 million yuan, and 70.072 million yuan. The prospectus also noted that self-owned alcoholic beverages contributed over 60% of Helens' alcohol revenue, with gross margins above 70%; through factory-direct procurement and economies of scale, Helens also obtained relatively favorable purchase prices for third-party brand alcoholic beverages.
<\/figure>One of its advantages was scale. While expanding aggressively, Helens faced surging store-opening costs, compounded by factors like the pandemic, leading to a net loss of 230 million yuan in 2021; the net loss expanded to 1.601 billion yuan the following year.
After cumulative losses exceeded 1.8 billion yuan, Helens began closing stores to save itself. Financial data shows that by the end of 2023, Helens had 479 taverns, a decrease of 288 from the previous year; a reduction of over 40% from the peak of over 850 stores.
Meanwhile, Helens initiated a strategic transformation: shifting from a fully direct-operated model to opening franchising, i.e., the "Hi Beer Partner" plan. Initially, the minimum investment threshold was at least 600,000 yuan; by 2024, the threshold for new store models dropped to about 400,000 yuan, reflecting pressure to expand and improve business conditions.
<\/figure>Under the Wave of Bistros, Single Store and Franchise Face Pressure
According to the 2025 financial report, Helens' full-year revenue was 540 million yuan, down 28.3% year-on-year; net profit attributable to parent was 33.954 million yuan, turning a profit. The proportion of self-owned alcoholic beverage revenue and gross profit rate increased year-on-year, with store-level contribution gross margin rising to 73.77%, indicating improvement in overall operations compared to the previous year.
<\/figure>But the reality is still declining average daily sales per store. In 2025, Helens' direct-operated and franchise-partner stores had an average daily sales of 8,500 yuan per store, down over 18% year-on-year; the average daily sales for a single partner store were only 4,100 yuan. Average daily sales across all store types declined. In the catering track where average daily revenue per store easily exceeds 10,000 yuan, Helens' main franchise store model does not earn much.
More notably, nearly 70% of Helens' stores are located in third-tier and below cities, with profitability under pressure.
<\/figure>On the other hand, young people now have too many places to drink. The appeal of low prices is weakening. Narrow Door Dining Eye shows that over the past year, as many as 38,000 new taverns opened, from Homebars, craft beer bars, Livehouse-style taverns to various bistros, with consumption scenarios gradually diversifying.
Among them, the bistro model operating "meal + drink" has risen in recent years. In this track, the brand "Huan Shi" (Fantasy Chef), which operates "meal + drink," is growing aggressively. Its parent company, Extreme Object Thinking, submitted a prospectus to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January this year. Huan Shi has over 100 stores in China, with revenue exceeding 1 billion yuan in 2024.
Compared to Helens, which opened the market with low prices and scale, Huan Shi takes a different path: a more atmospheric environment, higher pricing, with per capita consumption exceeding 100 yuan. On social platforms, many netizens describe Huan Shi as "beautiful food." According to the prospectus, its average daily sales per store in the first nine months of 2025 were 29,880 yuan.
Unlike traditional bar and tavern formats, Huan Shi extends operating hours to over 18 hours by offering brunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and evening drink sessions, improving single-store utilization and operational efficiency. The prospectus disclosed that in the nine months ended September 30, 2025, alcoholic beverages and drinks contributed about 45% of operating revenue, of which 85% were alcoholic drinks; during the same period, Huan Shi's overall gross margin stabilized at 68.7%, above the industry average.
However, Huan Shi also faces challenges: high store costs squeeze profits, and consumer complaints about dish taste and quality affect brand reputation.
Chinese food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng believes that, like the coffee track, brands at low, medium, and high ends each have their market. The same applies to taverns: taverns are increasingly favored by the new generation, with the industry in a high-speed expansion phase but overall concentration is not high. Perhaps after about five more years, driven by capital and consumption dividends, leading brands and a clearer competitive landscape will emerge in the market.
He said that the "hardcore factors" determining the future development of the tavern business are mainly brand effect, scale effect, fan effect, supply chain completeness, and single-store operation capability. Since each store is located differently, strategies need to be differentiated. For Helens, how to run every store well may be its biggest challenge.
