Coffee has become the key factor supporting store-level performance at GUMING.

On August 26, GUMING released its interim results for 2026. In the first half of the year, the company generated revenue of RMB 7.47 billion, up 31.9% year-on-year, while adjusted profit reached RMB 1.568 billion, representing a 44.4% increase. The adjusted core profit margin improved from 19.9% to 23.2%, and the gross margin rose from 31.5% to 33.4%.

As of the end of June, GUMING operated a total of 14,351 stores. During the first half, the company opened 1,318 new locations and closed 521, resulting in a net addition of 797 stores. While store expansion continues, the task of driving growth in per-store revenue has increasingly fallen to new categories such as coffee.

Looking at store-level metrics, average daily sales per store increased from RMB 7,600 to RMB 7,800 in the first half, while average daily cup sales edged up from 439 to 440 cups. The company attributed this support to an expanded coffee product lineup and the development of breakfast scenarios, while noting that reduced subsidies from third-party delivery platforms acted as a drag on performance.

This support stems primarily from coffee's ability to extend both the customer base and consumption periods. Management at GUMING previously stated that after rolling out coffee nationwide, stores gained office consumers aged over 35. Pairing coffee with breakfast and bakery items has also helped fill the early-morning slot, a period where tea beverage sales have traditionally been relatively weak.

GUMING previously disclosed that by the end of 2025, average daily coffee sales per store stood at approximately 80 cups, with coffee accounting for nearly 20% of total cup volume. Management has set a target to increase average daily coffee sales to around 120 cups in 2026.

On the product front, GUMING is also leveraging its cold-chain and R&D systems to develop fruit-based coffee offerings. From the "Big Orange Americano" to the "Bitter End Tangerine Latte," the company's differentiation strategy leans toward extending its fruit tea supply chain into the coffee segment.

Coverage of coffee equipment at the store level is also expanding. By the end of 2025, more than 12,000 GUMING stores were equipped with coffee machines, a penetration rate of nearly 90%, with 27 coffee products launched throughout the year. By the end of June 2026, the number of stores with coffee machines had grown to approximately 13,500, pushing coverage to around 94%, and 12 of the 51 new products launched in the first half were coffee items.

Beyond coffee, the same category-expansion logic is extending outside the storefront. Bottled carrot and vegetable juice products have been launched nationwide in stores, and ready-to-drink products are beginning to enter retail channels such as convenience stores and supermarkets. Recently, GUMING was also reported to be internally testing a "Fresh Pomelo Draft Beer," though the company's brand team has not confirmed this.

Behind this multi-category exploration lies mounting pressure from store network expansion. Based on the 13,554 stores at the start of the period, GUMING's store closure rate in the first half was approximately 3.84%, up about 0.77 percentage points from the same period in 2025, with the number of closures increasing 70.8% year-on-year.

For the rise in store closures, GUMING primarily attributed it to the higher base of stores at the beginning of the period.

Management previously indicated that store openings in 2026 would largely maintain the same level as 2025, with a variance of no more than 500 stores either way. Based on this guidance, the market estimates full-year store openings at 3,000 to 4,000 locations. By this measure, the first half accounted for less than one-quarter of the annual target.

Expansion pressure also comes from an increasingly crowded competitive landscape. According to the July report from the China Monthly Report on Freshly Made Tea and Coffee, 47 mainstream tea and coffee brands added 4,560 new stores while closing 6,902 during the month, with closures outpacing openings.

In a market where both store openings and store replacements are accelerating, GUMING's growth cannot be measured by store count alone. Whether coffee, breakfast offerings, and ready-to-drink products can continue to lift per-store output, and whether newly added stores can maintain returns amid intensifying competition, will be the key metrics to watch in the second half of the year.