Tims China names new CEO amid sales slump and store reset

Tims China has put a new face at the top just as it leans harder on financing to keep its turnaround moving. The company named Kwok Wah Cheung chief executive officer effective June 15, while Yongchen Lu will step down from the CEO role and become chairman. Peter Yu will remain on the board as a director, a sign that the leadership reset is being managed rather than torn up.

Cheung arrives with deep consumer-sector credentials in China. Tims China said he has more than 20 years of experience as a chief executive and president, including senior roles at Supor, Nestle’s Greater China region, Wyeth Nutrition, The Coca-Cola Company and Procter & Gamble. That background fits a company that is still trying to sharpen its execution in a market where brand strength matters, but store productivity matters just as much.

The timing is tied to a difficult quarter. In the first quarter of 2026, Tims China reported revenue of RMB256.7 million, down 14.6% from a year earlier, and system sales of RMB322.9 million, down 14.2%. Net store closures totaled 21 in the period as the chain kept pruning underperforming locations before resuming net new openings later in the year. At the same time, the company’s registered loyalty club base reached 35.9 million members, up 42.9% year over year, one of the clearest signs that the brand still has reach even as the store base is being reset.

The balance sheet move was just as telling. Tims China said it agreed to issue additional senior secured convertible notes due in September 2029, with aggregate principal of about US$89.9 million. Part of the proceeds will be used to repurchase outstanding 2026 notes, giving the company more breathing room while it works through the turnaround. For coffee watchers, that reads as both support and pressure: the business still has backing, but it is not yet out of the woods.

Tims China ended March with 1,026 system-wide stores across 93 cities in mainland China, up from 1,022 system-wide stores at the end of 2024, when it had 24.0 million registered loyalty members and described the year as a pivotal transition period. The company’s latest moves suggest the next phase is about proving that a smaller, cleaner store portfolio can still support growth. After a CEO swap and another round of convertible financing, the real test is whether Tims China can turn this reset into steadier expansion rather than another stop on the way to the next recapitalization.