In Vietnamese, the “Hoi” in Hoi An means “meeting”, and the people of Hoi An love to explain the name of their town as three kinds of meeting: where the river meets the sea, where people from all over the world meet, and where cultures meet. Five centuries ago, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese and Dutch traders sailed into this port, and each group left a little of itself on the rows of wooden houses and tiled roofs. Centuries and countless changes later, the old town is still here, still welcoming visitors from far away. The difference is that they no longer arrive on wooden ships. They arrive as international brands in Hoi An: adidas, Starbucks, Crocs.
If Hoi An’s identity was once shaped by friends from all over the world, today it has become so strong that every brand walking in has to put on a very “Hoi An” outfit: yellow walls, wooden doors, small signs and lanterns. Look closer, though, and you’ll see none of them have been “dissolved”. Each one keeps the thing that makes it itself. In Vietnam we say “blend in, but don’t dissolve”, and a walk around the old town shows you exactly what that means.
| adidas | The Hoi An outfit: Trefoil logo turned into lanterns, a yellow heritage house, wooden doors. What stays: sneakers, neon-lit shelves, the sporty spirit. |
|---|---|
| Starbucks | The Hoi An outfit: wooden sign, louvered doors, a patterned-tile bar. What stays: the global menu and the “third place” feel. |
| Crocs | The Hoi An outfit: a small wooden sign, wooden pillars, a tiled roof. What stays: the colours, the Jibbitz and that young energy. |
I. When in Hoi An: the rules of the old town
Hoi An Ancient Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so any shop that opens here has to respect the look of the old town: no tearing out the original structure, small and discreet signs, colours that sit well with the street. It’s not just fashion brands. Banks, coffee chains and phone shops all have to “change clothes” too. ATMs hide behind wooden window frames, and familiar coffee chains swap their coloured signs for wooden ones.
The fun part is that every brand finds its own way to follow the rules and still be itself. Here are the three that I think do it best.
II. adidas Hoi An: when the Trefoil becomes a lantern
Say adidas and you think sport, energy and the famous three stripes. In Hoi An, though, the first thing you notice is lanterns. On the street outside the store, the adidas Originals Trefoil has been reworked into colourful lanterns, hung between white silk ones. At a glance they look like lotus flowers; look again and you’ll spot the logo. A very fitting idea for a shop right in the heart of the old town.
The store sits in a two-storey heritage house, mostly yellow, with wooden doors and louvered shutters in the same tones as the rest of the street. It’s the first adidas Heritage Store in Vietnam, opened at the end of September 2026, in a house adidas says is around 300 years old. Only once you step inside do you meet the adidas you know: neon-lit shelves and sneakers with a very international look.
What I like is that adidas didn’t just change the packaging. Besides the usual shoes and clothes, the store also carries pieces in simple, natural leather, the kind you’d find in Hoi An’s long-running handmade leather workshops. Even the slides are displayed in hand-woven rattan baskets. To see the full range, head to the official adidas Vietnam website.
III. Starbucks Hoi An: a yellow coat on a busy corner
Starbucks is one of the most recognisable brands in the world: the green Siren, your name scribbled on a paper cup, and a menu that’s pretty much the same whether you’re in Seattle or Saigon. Starbucks even calls itself the “third place”, somewhere to linger between home and work. A brand that consistent could easily look out of place in an old town.
Starbucks Hoi An sits on a busy corner of Tran Hung Dao Street, one of the main ways into the old town. And it wears the same yellow coat as its neighbours: a wooden sign, black louvered doors, most of the original timber structure kept, and even the Siren logo inside is made of wood.
The menu is still very international, from lattes to Frappuccinos. But it comes wrapped in an old-world space: a bar clad in blue patterned tiles, wooden pillars, wooden shelves and a balcony looking out over trees and a row of yellow houses. Sitting here feels nothing like the other shops on the street, or any other Starbucks you’ve been to. Menus and store locations are on the official Starbucks Vietnam website.
Quick tip: you can have a latte at home, but in Hoi An it’s worth trying Vietnamese coffee. A coffee making class in Hoi An lets you brew your own phin coffee and take the recipe home with you.
IV. Crocs Hoi An: less is enough
Crocs keeps it light and simple. No reworked lanterns, no balcony, just a wooden sign carved with “crocs” on a yellow facade, with a row of yellow silk lanterns above. Opened in 2023, it’s also the 50th Crocs store in Vietnam.
Crocs doesn’t need much, because the simplicity itself creates the contrast. Behind the time-worn wooden pillars and the dark tiled roofs so typical of Hoi An, you’ll find bright banners, shelves of shoes in every colour and a Jibbitz bar (the little charms you clip onto your Crocs) under the line “Your Canvas For Expression”. The brand’s young, bold energy is all still there, just under an old roof. You can browse the styles on the official Crocs Vietnam website.
V. Spotting international brands in Hoi An: a few tips
- Go early for photos. Before 8am the streets are still quiet, so it’s easy to get the whole facade and the lantern strings in one shot.
- Come back at dusk. Once the lanterns light up, the yellow walls look their best.
- Play “spot the logo”. Banks, phone shops, coffee chains… almost every brand in the old town has its own “Hoi An edition”.
- Walk or cycle. The old town has motorbike-free hours, and the shops are close to each other, so walking is easiest.
Seen the adidas lanterns? Why not make your own? Try a lantern making class in Hoi An, then join a Hoi An food tour to taste the part of Hoi An no brand can bring with it.
Final thoughts
Walking through the old town, you’ll see that Hoi An isn’t closed to anything new. It welcomes adidas, Starbucks and Crocs, just on its own terms. Every brand that comes here has to do as Hoi An does, and both sides look better for it. Blend in, but don’t dissolve: Hoi An has been doing exactly that for hundreds of years.
There are more stories about the old town in our Hoi An travel guide. Still looking for a place to stay? Read where to stay in Hoi An.
FAQ
Is there a Starbucks in Hoi An?
Yes. Starbucks Hoi An is on a corner of Tran Hung Dao Street, near one of the entrances to the old town, in a yellow house with a wooden sign, louvered doors and a balcony over the street.
What is special about the adidas store in Hoi An?
It is the first adidas Heritage Store in Vietnam, set in a yellow heritage house. The Trefoil logo is reworked into lanterns hung over the street, and inside you’ll find natural leather pieces and slides displayed in rattan baskets.
Why do shops in Hoi An Ancient Town all have yellow walls and wooden signs?
Hoi An Ancient Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so every shop, international brands included, has to keep the old architecture, use small signs and stick to colours that match the street.
From Vincent – the Author
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