What this is
A daily census of China-origin retail and F&B chains with storefronts open in the United States. The headline is a count of real, open outlets.
How a store gets counted
A chain enters the platform when it adds a confirmed US store on its own locator or when we hand-verify an outlet. Each outlet is counted just once, under the state it sits in. We count storefronts people can walk into, so an unstaffed vending machine (like a POP MART “roboshop”) is stored for the record but won’t be added to the count.
We read a company’s own locator every day if it has one. Otherwise, a sighting is confirmed by hand. In both cases, we’re only counting real outlets. If an outlet closes, we capture that as soon as possible and it is reflected in the counts.
What’s in scope
Chains that originated in China. Hong-Kong-origin brands are out of scope (brands built in China are counted regardless of ownership). We track storefront chains, not products sold via other retailers or one-off flagship showrooms that are meant for brand promotion.
When a store closes
A verified closure is removed from the list and the count. It is also logged. For chains we read daily, a closure is caught when an outlet disappears from the locator. Closures are also found manually or by user reports. Even if a chain’s locator lists as open an outlet that we’ve confirmed is closed, we ensure it remains logged as closed. We also note that there is a gap, since this could suggest that a brand is overstating its US footprint.
Mapping outlets
Addresses are mapped using the US Census Bureau’s geocoder. In special cases, such as shopping malls or newly-added blocks, we place a coordinate by hand using a neighboring match or the chain’s own listing, and mark it so the map draws it as a derived point.
The international register
The international register is researched to record which China-origin chains have opened outside China. Its sources are company filings, exchange announcements and the trade press; each row is typed in by hand and carries the date it was true and our confidence level. “No evidence” means searches have not yet turned up a presence in that market, not definitive proof that a chain is absent.
Sources
Figures come from first-party and official sources, namely: chains’ store locators, company filings and press, franchise disclosure documents, government permits, and locations verified by hand. We do not scrape third-party review sites, food delivery services or online marketplace platforms to gather counts. Any modeled or estimated figure is clearly marked with a dagger (†) for awareness. Coastlines and boundaries on the map are from Natural Earth (public domain).
Pro
The map, directory, international register and counts are free. Deeper analysis including revenue models, co-tenancy clusters, and capacity checks are part of our paid Pro services.
Who we are
Chains From China is a project of Twoshoe Labs LLC. Corrections, additions and a store we’ve missed are welcome — submit info or write to info@twoshoelabs.com.