Check out the brands hit hardest Hong Kong's social unrest

Xiaomi is one of the hardest hit brands as its metric scores fell.

Chinese electronics firm Xiaomi, Japanese fast-food restaurant Yoshinoya and Starbucks are just some of the brands whose brand metric scores saw the steepest decline following the events of Hong Kong’s social unrest, according to a study by YouGov.

These brands were involved in certain controversies that are said to have a dip in consumer spending. For instance, Xiaomi’s buzz score dropped 40.5 points to -4.1 from a score of 36.4 last August. Its decline started when it released a new smart TV carrying a slogan that is said to mimic chants in the gathering.

Meanwhile, Yoshinoya’s buzzed score had plunged 111.8 points to -56.1 from 55.7 in July following a Facebook post deemed insulting to the police force.

Another brand affected is Hong Kong-based restaurant chain Maxim’s Caterers when its founder’s daughter denounced the mass gatherings during an appearance at the United Nations in September. This are said to have resulted in Maxim’s outlets being boycotted and vandalised.

Following this, buzz scores of Starbucks fell -118.8 points from 73.5 to -45.3; Maxim’s Fast Food dropped 111.1 points from 52.6 to -58.5; and Genki Sushi’s score crashed 103 points from 41.8 to -61.2.

“The negative trend in Buzz is also reflected in a drop in Current Customer scores – which measure how many people have purchased from the brand in the past 30 days. The brands that have seen the biggest loss of customers in recent days are all involved in the F&B industry,” YouGov stated.