Starbucks China recently launched its new spring collection tumblers and glassware and most of them feature the cherry blossom theme. One of the items was a cup with a cat paw-shaped center that becomes visible when a beverage is poured into it.
The pink double-layered cup was released on February 26 and Starbucks announced the new item via social media. Immediately, customers lined up to get the limited-edition glassware and some even queued for hours, starting from the night before the store opens in the morning, proving the popularity of the item.
According to CNN, the cup with the cat paw-shaped center was sold at CN¥199 or US$30 each when it was put on sale for the first time on Tuesday. It was reported that before the Starbucks shop closes, the cups were already sold out.
Moreover, since they were selling like hot cakes, there were customers who fought each other just to get one of the cups. The brawl was recorded and as can be seen in the video, two people were fighting verbally and they got physical and it was all because of the Starbucks' new merchandise item. Staff tried to break off the fight and while he successfully pulled the customers apart, the heavy atmosphere remained.
Benjamin Cavender, an analyst working for Shanghai's China Market Research Group, said that the incident just showed the negative side of marketing online. Then again, he noted that the campaign was very successful as customers are willing to line up to get the item that was advertised.
"This is a great example of the dark side of viral marketing but on the plus side, the frenzy over the cups shows strong interest in the brand and a willingness for consumers to show up at Starbucks stores, money in hand," he said.
With the cups now declared as sold out in stores, Starbucks announced that it would sell an additional 1,000 cups but the items would be sold through Alibaba this time. The move to sell the Starbucks cup with cat's paw design via online retail store was to prevent fights like what took place on the launching of the feline-themed pink cup.
The bad news is that since the cup is now a certified hot item, scalpers started to resell them for as much as CN¥1,800 or US$269. It was learned that the cups are exclusive to Starbucks China so they are being sold to the U.S. and other countries through eBay.
Meanwhile, a branding expert from Shanghai explained that the cup's popularity was due to the people's fondness of the cherry blossom-themed design plus it has a unique shape. Wu Junyan added that the cup may also remind customers of their pets
"The cherry blossom pinkness is appealing to women," Junyan told Sixth Tone. "But personally, I think the quality-to-value ratio is too low - I won't be buying one."
