Luckin Coffee blew past Starbucks in China; now it’s coming to the US
The Chinese coffee giant wants to make a stateside splash as soon as next year, with the Financial Times reporting that the company has plans to undercut American competitors like Starbucks by selling drinks for as little as $2 to $3.
Luckin was booted off the Nasdaq in mid-2020, after it admitted to inflating sales figures in its US IPO a year earlier. In the years since, the chain’s expanded rapidly in its home nation to race well ahead of Starbucks.
Not content with beating Brian Niccol’s company in its own backyard, Luckin Coffee now seems intent on proving that anything Starbucks can brew, it can brew better (or at least cheaper) on American soil. Discounted drinks might strike a chord with inflation-weary US consumers who skipped Starbucks last quarter — last week the company reported that US transaction volumes had fallen 10% year on year.
Go deeper: Starbucks is really struggling in America — in China, things are much worse
Luckin was booted off the Nasdaq in mid-2020, after it admitted to inflating sales figures in its US IPO a year earlier. In the years since, the chain’s expanded rapidly in its home nation to race well ahead of Starbucks.
Not content with beating Brian Niccol’s company in its own backyard, Luckin Coffee now seems intent on proving that anything Starbucks can brew, it can brew better (or at least cheaper) on American soil. Discounted drinks might strike a chord with inflation-weary US consumers who skipped Starbucks last quarter — last week the company reported that US transaction volumes had fallen 10% year on year.
Go deeper: Starbucks is really struggling in America — in China, things are much worse
