New 2018 Coffee Kid in China is not a kid anymore...

Despite the many ‘China market expert’ predictions last year that Chinese LUCKIN COFFEE would not make it, the LUCKIN 2019 target is to take over STARBUCKS leading position in number of shops.

Luckin Coffee only burst onto China’s coffee scene one year ago (first shop in January 2018). Since then, Luckin has expanded to 2,000 stores in 21 cities across China, serving up more than 85 million cups of coffee to a customer base some 12 million strong.

In the company New Year briefing today, Luckin Coffee said that it aims to be the largest coffee chain in China by the number of cups sold and outlets by the end of 2019. To achieve the goal, Luckin plans to increase the total number of outlets to 4,500, adding 2,500 new stores in the coming year (7 new shops a day).

Luckin’s announcement comes amid its escalating battle with Starbucks for China’s coffee drinkers. The company’s projected plan would overtake Starbuck’s more than 3,600 shops. Luckin’s lightspeed expansion is powered by its highly subsidized marketing and tech-centric purchasing experience.

Despite the quick expansion, the company is still loss-making, which highlights the crucial role of capital in its longer term development. Last month Luckin has completed round B fundraising $200 million at a company valuation of $2.2 billion. Joy Capital, Tai Chung Capital, Singapore Government Investment Corporation (GIC), CICC are among the investors participated in the second round funding.

Source Technode