Mad Rush for Mille Crêpe Cakes After Lady M Announces Exit From China

On July 21, American pastry brand Lady M announced that it would be terminating its operations in the Chinese mainland from September 10 onwards. No reasons were provided for the decision.

Colloquially dubbed as the ‘Hermes of Pastry’ in China for its high prices — a slice of cake from here costs upwards of 70 RMB (over 10 USD), the luxury cake brand was founded in New York in 2001, and penetrated the Chinese market in 2017.

In the past half decade, Lady M has opened 23 stores in the Chinese mainland alone. The jewel in the crown of Lady M’s creations, the Mille Crêpe (French for ‘a thousand crêpes’) is easily the pâtisserie’s bestseller.

Since the spread of the news, a Weibo hashtag related to Lady M’s exit from China has gained more than 93 million views. While some netizens are already mourning the brand’s departure, others said that they have never tried the costly cakes and will certainly not miss them.

Mille Crêpe aficionados in Shanghai have reportedly rushed to place orders with the popular dessert parlor in the past 24 hours. On Weibo, a video depicting a high number of delivery drivers in a Lady M shop with nearly empty shelves has gone viral, and a related hashtag has gained 100 million views.

But before you start panic buying cake à la pandemic times, know this: While Lady M has terminated its contract with its domestic retailer, the brand could very well work with a different retailer in the future.

Recent months have seen a wave of American brands, from AirBnb to Kindle, taking their leave of China, with most of them citing unfavorable policies and plummeting business due to the Covid-19 pandemic as their reasons for packing.

Cover image designed by the author