Helen's Chinese Trademark Ruled Invalid, Market Cap Plunges 90%
Helens Chinese Trademark Ruled Invalid, Market Value Plunges Over 90%
Have you been to Helen's? Helens tavern recently lost its "Chinese name." The court's final judgment declared the three Chinese trademarks "Helens," "Helens Tavern," and "Helens Big Food Stall" invalid.
However, compared to "losing its Chinese name," Helens' greater crisis may be that it, once representing young people, is being abandoned by them.
Helens' Trademark Defense Battle
Founded in 2009, Helens first opened in Beijing's Wudaokou, adjacent to Tsinghua University and Peking University. Founder Xu Bingzhong, a retired veteran born in the 1970s, initially targeted the foreign market, such as overseas Chinese 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 did not start registering core Chinese trademarks until 2018, laying hidden dangers for subsequent trademark crises.
<\/figure>According to media reports, the trademark disputes involving Helens mainly arose between Chengdu Helen Binfen Hotel Co., Ltd. and Helens. The former successfully registered two "Helen" trademarks in 2016 under Class 43 for restaurant and bar services, and filed invalidation requests against the "Helens" trademark on May 23, 2023, and against the "Helens Tavern" and "Helens Big Food Stall" trademarks on August 7, 2024, with the National Intellectual Property Administration, claiming that the disputed trademarks and the cited trademarks constitute similar marks on 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 had been ruled invalid by the court in a final judgment. The announcement stated that, based on current assessments, the dispute would not significantly impact the group's overall business, daily operations, or financial condition, as the group could continue using the uncontested trademarks in its daily operations.
<\/figure>Reporters from Blue Whale News found that as of now, Helens' offline stores and online communications still use the Chinese name "Helens" and related expressions. The impact has not yet affected specific stores, but the capital market may be more sensitive than physical stores.
Stock Price and Market Value Fluctuated Significantly After News Release
Following the news, the stock price opened lower on June 26 and fell over 6% during the session. By the close of that day, Helens' stock price had dropped to HKD 1.58.
Public information shows that Helens' market value once reached HKD 30 billion in the year of its listing, but currently stands at only HKD 2 billion, a decline of over 90%.
"The First Tavern for Young People" Is No Longer Young
Helens' earliest stores were located near university circles, primarily serving foreigners and international students. Later, founder Xu Bingzhong changed his approach, positioning Helens as a "space for young people to freely communicate offline" and adhering to "extreme cost-effectiveness." Bottled beer prices are all below RMB 10, with cocktails slightly more expensive but still around RMB 20.
<\/figure>The "young people + cost-effectiveness" model was replicated. By the end of 2021, Helens had 782 stores and was listed on the Hong Kong stock market that year.
According to Helens' prospectus submitted in 2021, revenue from 2018 to 2020 was RMB 115 million, RMB 565 million, and RMB 818 million respectively; net profit was RMB 9.734 million, RMB 79.136 million, and RMB 70.072 million.
The prospectus shows that self-owned alcoholic beverages contributed over 60% of Helens' alcoholic beverage revenue, with gross profit margins above 70%. Meanwhile, leveraging factory-direct procurement and economies of scale, Helens was able to obtain relatively favorable procurement prices for third-party brand alcoholic beverages.
<\/figure>Therefore, one of Helens' advantages lies in scale. While expanding aggressively, store opening costs also surged. Coupled with factors such as the pandemic, Helens recorded a net loss of RMB 230 million in 2021; the net loss expanded to RMB 1.601 billion the following year.
After cumulative losses exceeding RMB 1.8 billion, Helens began closing stores to save itself. Financial data shows that as of the end of 2023, Helens operated 479 taverns, a decrease of 288 from a year earlier; compared to the peak of over 850, the number had decreased by more than 40%.
Meanwhile, Helens initiated a strategic transformation, shifting from a fully direct-operated model to opening franchising, i.e., the "Happy Beer Partner" plan. At the start of the plan, the minimum capital investment threshold was at least RMB 600,000; by 2024, the investment threshold for new store types was lowered to around RMB 400,000.
<\/figure>bistro Everywhere, Tough Business: Operating Pressure
According to the 2025 financial report, Helens' full-year revenue was RMB 540 million, a year-on-year decrease of 28.3%; net profit attributable to the parent company was RMB 33.954 million, successfully turning losses into profits. The proportion of self-owned alcoholic beverage revenue and gross profit margin improved year-on-year, and the gross profit margin at the store level increased to 73.77%, indicating an overall improvement in operating conditions compared to the previous year.
<\/figure>However, in fact, Helens still faces the reality of declining average daily sales per store. In 2025, the average daily sales per same-store for direct-operated and franchise-partner stores was RMB 8,500, a year-on-year decline of over 18%; the overall average daily sales per single partner store was only RMB 4,100, with average daily sales across all store types declining across the board.
In the dining track, where average daily revenue per store often exceeds RMB 10,000, the revenue obtained by Helens' main franchise store type is relatively limited. More notably, nearly 70% of Helens' stores are located in third-tier and below cities, putting profitability under pressure.
<\/figure>On the other hand, there are now too many places for young people to drink, and the appeal of low prices is weakening. According to Zhaomen Canyan, the number of newly opened taverns in the past year reached as many as 38,000.
From Homebars, craft beer taverns, Livehouse-style taverns to various bistros, consumption scenarios are gradually diversifying. Among them, the "food + alcohol" bistro has risen strongly in recent years.
In this track, Huanshi, which operates "food + alcohol," is growing aggressively. Its parent company, Jiwu Thinking, 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: the environment emphasizes atmosphere, product pricing is higher, and per capita consumption exceeds RMB 100. On social platforms, many netizens mention Huanshi's "pretty food." The prospectus discloses that its average daily sales per store in the first nine months of 2025 were RMB 29,880.
Unlike traditional bars and taverns, Huanshi extends operating hours to over 18 hours by offering brunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and evening drinks market, aiming to improve store utilization and operational efficiency. In the first nine months of 2025, alcoholic beverages and drinks contributed approximately 45% of operating income, of which 85% were alcoholic beverages. During the same period, Huanshi's overall gross profit margin stabilized at 68.7%, higher than the industry average.
However, Huanshi also faces store cost pressures, and consumer complaints about dish taste and quality may affect brand reputation.
China's food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng believes that, similar to the coffee track, low, medium, and high-end brands each have their market. For taverns, brands at different pricing levels will exist. Taverns are increasingly sought after by the new generation and are in a period of rapid expansion, but overall concentration is not high. Perhaps after about five years, driven by capital and consumption dividends, the market will see leading brands and a sharper competitive landscape.
At the same time, Zhu Danpeng stated that product pricing is not the only key factor. The hardcore factors determining the future development of the tavern business mainly include brand effect, scale effect, fan effect, supply chain completeness, and single-store operational capability. Since each store is located in a different location, strategies should also be differentiated. For Helens, the biggest challenge may be how to operate each store well.
Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investment involves risks, please invest cautiously.
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