上海精品咖啡三巨头，有一家创始人已被限高

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the decline of Seesaw, once a leading brand in the Shanghai coffee market, highlighting its struggles with store closures, a shrinking customer base, and the founder facing restrictions on high consumption, contrasting its past prestige with its current challenges [1][5][12]. Group 1: Market Dynamics - Seesaw was once a prominent player in the specialty coffee market with over 100 stores and more than 2 million members, but by April 2025, it is projected to have only about 60 stores remaining, nearly halving its presence [5][10]. - Competitors like Luckin Coffee and Manner have adopted aggressive pricing strategies, with Luckin normalizing a price point around 10 yuan, leading to significant expansions, including nearly 7,000 new stores for Luckin in 2024 and a 51% increase in Manner's store count [7][10]. - The coffee market is shifting towards a focus on affordability and convenience, with consumer preferences moving from brand prestige to price sensitivity and proximity [9][19]. Group 2: Seesaw's Challenges - Seesaw's brand identity has wavered, attempting to appeal to both high-end consumers and the mass market without successfully adjusting its pricing strategy, leading to a loss of appeal among both demographics [12][13]. - The company expanded aggressively from 7 stores in 2017 to over 160 by the end of 2022, but this rapid growth has resulted in operational difficulties and a failure to maintain profitability, leading to a significant number of store closures [15][16]. - Management challenges have increased as Seesaw expanded across multiple cities, resulting in operational inefficiencies and financial disputes, including wage arrears and supplier payment issues [16][17]. Group 3: Future of Specialty Coffee - The article suggests that the future of specialty coffee brands lies in redefining their business models to focus on smaller, more sustainable operations rather than aggressive expansion [21]. - It emphasizes the need for specialty coffee brands to target a niche market with higher quality expectations, maintain a manageable number of stores, and create a compelling value proposition that resonates with core customers [21][23]. - The experience of Seesaw serves as a cautionary tale for emerging brands, highlighting the importance of understanding customer boundaries, controlling growth impulses, and establishing a viable business model over mere expansion ambitions [23].