BEIJING, Jan 20 (Global Times): Beijing-based Luckin Coffee, a domestic rival of Starbucks of the US, said it aims to become China's largest chain coffee brand in the number of outlet stores and sales this year.
An expert said that Luckin's emergence is stimulating the domestic coffee industry, which has large growth potential.
Luckin plans to open 2,500 more stores this year to raise the number of its coffee outlets to more than 4,500 nationwide, Qian Zhiya, founder and CEO of Luckin, said on Thursday at a meeting in Beijing. Achieving that goal would take it past Starbucks, which has more than 3,600 stores in the Chinese mainland market.
Qian said that Luckin, which started trial operations on January 1, 2018, had sold 89.68 million cups of coffee by the end of last year and opened 2,073 stores in 22 domestic cities.
Luckin aims to tap the great growth potential of the Chinese coffee consumption market, Yang Fei, co-founder and CMO of Luckin, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Luckin is bringing the "catfish effect" into the Chinese coffee sector, stimulating its rapid growth and driving cooperation between its rival Starbucks and Alibaba Group, Du Hao, a Shenzhen-based industry insider, told the Global Times recently. Starbucks announced a comprehensive strategic cooperation with Alibaba in August 2018.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
