(Yicai Global) Sept. 19 -- Xtep has six trademark applications for new coffee labels under review as the Chinese owner of sportswear brands Merrel and Saucony looks for new ways to give customers a better experience at its brick-and-mortar outlets and drum up sales.

Xtep has lodged applications for three ‘Special Coffee’ and three ‘Xtep Coffee’ trademarks at the Trademark Office of China National Intellectual Property Administration, the Beijing-based company said.

Xtep will first try out the service at its flagship store in Chunxi road, Chengdu, southwestern Sichuan province with a variety of coffee and tea drinks on offer, a source at the company’s marketing department said.

The firm is following in the steps of another sporting goods giant, Li Ning, which registered its ‘Ning Coffee’ trademark in May, and now serves coffee at its outlets in Beijing, southern Guangdong province and Xiamen city in southwestern Fujian province.

Offering coffee is a marketing ploy to get consumers to spend more time in stores and drive up sales, analysts said. But whether it can convert into a final income remains to be seen.

Traditionally a tea-drinking society, coffee has become increasingly popular in recent years in China. China’s coffee market, which was worth CNY381.7 billion (USD54.7 billion) last year, is expected to grow 27.2 percent a year to reach CNY1 trillion (USD143.3 billion) in 2025, according to data from iiMedia Research.

Both sports giants boast a huge number of brick-and-mortar outlets, more than most coffee chains. Xtep operated 6,251 stores both at home and abroad as of June 30 and Li Ning had 7,112 including franchised sales outlets.

However their aim is not to compete with the likes of Starbucks and Luckin Coffee, but rather to give their customers a better in-store experience, both firms said.

Xtep does not plan to set up an independent coffee chain, it said. Xtep Coffee will improve the customer experience and diversify the company's membership services, it added.

Li Ning’s coffee is only sold to clients who spend a certain amount of time in the store to make their experience more enjoyable, staff said. The coffee is not on sale to the general public.

Editors: Shi Yi, Kim Taylor