[Starbucks Killer?] Luckin Coffee to have 2,000 stores by end of year

[xyxmt]

Are you serious? Their coffee is known to be terrible. Canadians buy Timmy's because most still believe it's a Canadian company

coffee is a hot drink there is no best and no terrible coffee, it all depends on your taste
I can drink star bucks coffee black but with cream and sugar it taste like crap so when I am in cream+sugar coffee mode i go to tims or McDonald now that they have figure out Tims Coffee recipe of 50/50 coffee and tea

 

[liall]

Tata owns Starbucks in 50:50 ratio

No. Tata has a JV with starbucks in INDIA. So TATA owns only 50% of Starbucks India.

 

[TaiShang]

Luckin Coffee takes on Starbucks

China Daily, January 4, 2019

Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee on Thursday said it aims to open 2,500 new stores in 2019.

The new stores will see the firm outnumber Starbucks in China, making it the country's largest coffee chain brand by store number and cups sold by the end of this year.

Considered a new player in the market, Luckin launched in trial form in January 2018. It's now expanded to more than 2,073 stores in 22 cities across the country.

Of its existing stores, 1,897 are brick-and-mortar stores and 176 are kitchens for delivery services.

All of Luckin' s stores are directly operated, reaching places where many of its competitors have not been able to enter. It has opened stores in the Palace Museum and many top universities.

The rise of Luckin has brought increased competition from market dominator, Starbucks China, which currently has 3,600 stores in 150 cities.

The Seattle-based brand has plans to build 600 new stores annually over the next five years in China, a goal that will double its 2017 store count to 6,000 across 230 cities by 2022.

Luckin has relied heavily on promotions and lower retail prices to attract and retain consumers.

Despite its loss of more than 800 million yuan ($116.4 million) last year, the company said it will continue to offer promotions on its products for the next three-to-five years.

It will prioritize opening new stores, new product development and statistics enhancement to further expand its market share.

The range of promotions have however changed: customers who buy five cups of coffees no longer get another five for free, for example. Free delivery has also been restricted to orders over 55 yuan.

Luckin Coffee CMO Yang Fei said the company has 1.25 million customers and that it sold 89.7 million cups of beverages last year.

The pick-up rate has risen from 35 percent in April to 61 percent in December. Delivery time has shortened to 16 minutes on average.

The company in December completed its series B financing round of $200 million, increasing the coffee-delivery startup's valuation to an estimated $2.2 billion, with investors including Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, Joy Capital and China International Capital.

Previously in July the company completed its series A worth $200 million.

The coffee chain store market has been growing, said Zhu Danpeng, an independent food analyst in China.

He said he is optimistic for Luckin Coffee. The country has 300 small-sized cities and the market shows great potential for future expansion of coffee chain stores.

Zhu said a bigger market share will offer Luckin Coffee more power in terms of supply chain and service upgrades in the future.

http://www.china.org.cn/business/2019-01/04/content_74340280.htm

 

[Jlaw]

Luckin Coffee takes on Starbucks

China Daily, January 4, 2019

Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee on Thursday said it aims to open 2,500 new stores in 2019.

The new stores will see the firm outnumber Starbucks in China, making it the country's largest coffee chain brand by store number and cups sold by the end of this year.

Considered a new player in the market, Luckin launched in trial form in January 2018. It's now expanded to more than 2,073 stores in 22 cities across the country.

Of its existing stores, 1,897 are brick-and-mortar stores and 176 are kitchens for delivery services.

All of Luckin' s stores are directly operated, reaching places where many of its competitors have not been able to enter. It has opened stores in the Palace Museum and many top universities.

The rise of Luckin has brought increased competition from market dominator, Starbucks China, which currently has 3,600 stores in 150 cities.

The Seattle-based brand has plans to build 600 new stores annually over the next five years in China, a goal that will double its 2017 store count to 6,000 across 230 cities by 2022.

Luckin has relied heavily on promotions and lower retail prices to attract and retain consumers.

Despite its loss of more than 800 million yuan ($116.4 million) last year, the company said it will continue to offer promotions on its products for the next three-to-five years.

It will prioritize opening new stores, new product development and statistics enhancement to further expand its market share.

The range of promotions have however changed: customers who buy five cups of coffees no longer get another five for free, for example. Free delivery has also been restricted to orders over 55 yuan.

Luckin Coffee CMO Yang Fei said the company has 1.25 million customers and that it sold 89.7 million cups of beverages last year.

The pick-up rate has risen from 35 percent in April to 61 percent in December. Delivery time has shortened to 16 minutes on average.

The company in December completed its series B financing round of $200 million, increasing the coffee-delivery startup's valuation to an estimated $2.2 billion, with investors including Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, Joy Capital and China International Capital.

Previously in July the company completed its series A worth $200 million.

The coffee chain store market has been growing, said Zhu Danpeng, an independent food analyst in China.

He said he is optimistic for Luckin Coffee. The country has 300 small-sized cities and the market shows great potential for future expansion of coffee chain stores.

Zhu said a bigger market share will offer Luckin Coffee more power in terms of supply chain and service upgrades in the future.

http://www.china.org.cn/business/2019-01/04/content_74340280.htm

Is Luckin differentiating from Starbucks or just a b version of Starbucks? If the latter there is no hope.

 

[TaiShang]

Is Luckin differentiating from Starbucks or just a b version of Starbucks? If the latter there is no hope.

I think different enough to force people to make a choice between the two.

Drink types and what is available as condiment is different, as well.

Also, their service seems to be much faster, better integrated into various mobile services.

 

[GumNaam]

Aww man, can y' all PHULEEEEEEZ send them our way here in the u.s. friggin' sick n tired of starbucks!

 

[TaiShang]

Aww man, can y' all PHULEEEEEEZ send them our way here in the u.s. friggin' sick n tired of starbucks!

I am not sure they will soon start expanding overseas.

By the end of this year, they plan to open more stores than Starbucks in Mainland China.

Probably it is a few years down the linen till they decide to go overseas.

 

[Jlaw]

Aww man, can y' all PHULEEEEEEZ send them our way here in the u.s. friggin' sick n tired of starbucks!

Starbucks main target groups are millennials. Until these "me too" group grie up, Starbucks will remain relevant I'm afraid

I think different enough to force people to make a choice between the two.

Drink types and what is available as condiment is different, as well.

Also, their service seems to be much faster, better integrated into various mobile services.

Let's hope they differentiate enough.

 

[TaiShang]

Let's hope they differentiate enough.

They need to grow aggressively into every university campuses in Mainland and phase out Starbucks like how DiDi Car did to its US competitor - forgot the name.

 

[TaiShang]

Luckin Coffee Now Does Lunch

By Zhao Runhua / Jan 10, 2019 06:27 PM / Business & Tech

New food items in the Luckin app. Photo: Caixin


Luckin Coffee is diversifying its product portfolio with four lunch items launched today.

The Chinese chain's latest “Boss Lunches,” including spicy Szechuan pulled chicken noodles and tuna salad, are now available in six cities including Beijing and Shanghai. The company told Caixin that Luckin branches in other Chinese cities will soon offer the salads but didn’t provide any dates.

Like other Luckin products, the lunch items are listed on the app at “discounted” prices of 23.1 yuan to 25.08 yuan – 34% off “normal” prices. Luckin told Caixin that they will adjust discount levels according to business needs.

A partnership is also in the works with Withwheat, a premium bakery chain in Beijing and Tianjin, Luckin told Caixin.

 

[TaiShang]

Luckin Coffee Reportedly Seeks IPO in Hong Kong

Isabelle Li / Jan 14, 2019

Chinese startup Luckin Coffee is reportedly seeking to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to research firm EqualOcean.

Investment banks have begun to prepare listing materials for the IPO, EqualOcean said.

Luckin was founded only 13 months ago, and quickly emerged as a fierce challenger to Starbucks in China.

Luckin’s estimated valuation is now $2.2 billion, after B-round funding of $200 million in December. It has opened 2,073 stores in China, aiming to launch another 2,500 in 2019.

The company refused to comment on the IPO plan.

Citing leaked financial information, local media reported that the coffee chain lost more than 857 million yuan ($127 million) in 2018, as Luckin has expanding rapidly.

Related: Coffee Upstart Luckin Plans to Overtake Starbucks in China This Year

 

[TaiShang]

Coffee startup Luckin expands to more Chinese cities

(Xinhua) 15:44, April 10, 2019

Luckin Coffee opens news stores in more cities. (People's Daily Online/Sheng Chuyi)


XIAMEN, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese start-up Luckin Coffee said Wednesday that it had opened new stores in 14 more Chinese cities, as it sets to compete with coffee giant Starbucks in the Chinese market.

The new expansion into cities like Hefei, Foshan, Shenyang and Kunming brings the total number of cities with Luckin outlets to 36, according to a company statement.

The company will further expand in several other cities by the end of the month, it said.

In January, the startup announced plans to open 2,500 new stores in 2019, with total stores topping 4,500 by the end of this year.

The expansion plan underpins the company's new year ambition to surpass Starbucks to become China's largest coffee chain brand in terms of the number of outlets and cups of coffee sold.

Seattle-based coffee giant Starbucks has long dominated China's coffee landscape, with over 3,600 outlets in the country.

Luckin Coffee, based in east China's Xiamen, started trial operation in January last year, selling coffee at brick-and-mortar stores while also delivering online orders.

It posted a meteoric expansion thanks to its discounts and convenient services, opening 2,073 chain stores in 22 cities across the country by the end of 2018, with nearly 90 million cups of coffee sold.

The start-up completed its Series B round of financing worth 200 million U.S. dollars late last year, lifting its valuation to about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2019/0410/c90000-9565415.html

 

[Sheikh Rauf]

almost 5$ a medium coffee cup in Qatar.
https://www.zomato.com/doha/starbucks-coffee-1-al-hilal/menu

 

[TaiShang]

The competition will likely end up like Uber.

 

[TaiShang]

Luckin Coffee May Overtake Starbucks as BlackRock Hedges Bet of China Coffee Master

LIAO SHUMIN
DATE : APR 19 2019/SOURCE : YICAI

Luckin Coffee May Overtake Starbucks as BlackRock Hedges Bet of China Coffee Master

(Yicai Global) April 19 -- Chinese startup Luckin Coffee has secured USD150 million in investment, led by US asset management giant BlackRock, which is hedging its investment in Starbucks, a coffee chain that Luckin Coffee is trying to outstrip on its home turf.

Luckin Coffee topped up its B round of financing with a fresh injection, including USD125 million from a private fund managed by BlackRock, CHNFund media outlet reported yesterday, citing the Beijing-based firm. The less-than-two-year-old unicorn's valuation has reached USD2.9 billion. New York-headquartered BlackRock is Starbucks' second-largest shareholder, holding nearly 7 percent of its common stock.

The Chinese startup will build over 2,500 new stores this year, raising the total to more than 4,500 units, and overtake Starbucks in the number of stores and cups of coffee sold to become China's largest coffee chain, the company deemed in its business plan for the B round of financing finished last November. The firm had to pledge its coffee machines earlier this month as collateral for loans to stay in the cash-burning race with the Seattle-headquartered rival.

Starbucks has opened over 3,500 stores in China as of last September. It entered the market in 1999.

Luckin Coffee's business model differs from that of Starbucks that builds shops and sell products that look and taste pretty similar around the world. The Chinese firm's outlets have no seating as they are mostly designed for delivery and they campaign buy-two-get-three offers on a regular basis. At CNY24 (USD3.60), one cup of Luckin latte costs about 20 percent less than Starbucks's in China. Discounts are here to stay, the Chinese firm has assured its clients.

Luckin Coffee secured USD200 million in its B round of financing, raising its valuation to USD2.2 billion. Joy Capital, Beijing Dazheng Management Consulting, China International Capital eked out their support from the similarly sized A round to take part in this one too.

Luckin Coffee sold 85 million cups of coffee from January to September last year. It posted CNY375 million (USD55.9 million) in sales revenue and CNY857 million in net loss, the same business plan shows. In other words, one cup of Luckin coffee costs the firm CNY27 to make, gives it CNY4 in revenue, and accrues a loss of CNY23 if absorbing all other business costs.

https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/lu...s-blackrock-hedges-bet-of-china-coffee-master