The Chinese chain Luckin Coffee opened its first two locations in the United States this week, betting on the orders for mobile devices and creative flavors can attract customers away from Starbucks.
Both new Luckin stores are based in Manhattan, and in the location of Midtown on Wednesday, Sam Liu took a sip of his jasmine cold brew.
“I’ve never tried something like that,” he said.
I thought I only ordered at the counter, but I realized that everyone was standing watching their phone.
Luckin Sam Liu client, New York City
Liu said he expected more seats: the small store has only three tables, and was initially confused by the order system in the Luckin application, which means that customers cannot order directly from a barista.
“I thought I only ordered at the counter, but I realized that everyone was standing looking at their phone,” Liu said.
Luckin is the largest coffee chain in China, with more than double locations than Starbucks there. His two stores in New York City are his first incursion outside Asia, where he has more than 24,000 locations throughout the region. In comparison, there are more than 17,000 Starbucks in the United States.
His CEO, Guo Jinyi, called the United States “a strategically important market” for the expansion of the company in a press release that announces the two new locations on Wednesday. “We are excited to introduce a diverse and unique coffee experience to US consumers.”
The company, which did not respond to a request for comments, has promoted its ambitions to expand worldwide, but has not publicly detailed its next movements in the United States or other markets.
The chain has gained success abroad through creative drinks such as coffees with infusion of alcohol and fruit lattes, along with its order model focused on smartphones. Applications -based approach makes it easier to track the inventory, send personalized appeals to consumers and serve drinks quickly, said John Zolidis, an analyst that tracks Luckin and Starbucks in the brokerage firm he founded, Quo Vadis Capital.
“Luckin was able to develop an incredible muscle with respect to product innovation, and have been very creative in China,” he said.
Zolidis said how Luckin’s rates in the territory of Starbucks will depend on their ability to differentiate their menu from other important EE. UU. UU. And smaller and independent coffees. Its American alignment already includes distinctive drinks such as cold blood beer and coconut lattes.
“These orange drinks, or one of their most successful, a coffee with coconut cloud milk, this is how judgment is achieved [customers] of the United States, ”said Zolidis.
Luckin faced financial problems during pandemia. He was eliminated from Nasdaq in 2020 after his shares sank after an internal investigation that found an executive had falsified income reports. The company declared bankruptcy in the United States the following year, but arose from the procedures in 2022 and its sales have been shot since then, reaching $ 4.7 billion worldwide in fiscal year 2024, an increase of 38.4% of 2023.
Luckin was able to develop an incredible muscle with respect to product innovation, and have been very creative in China.
John Zolidis, founder, quo vadis capital
Starbucks, on the contrary, is fighting both in the United States and China. Their sales in the same store in the US. According to the reports, the Seattle -based chain is looking to partially sell its business in China while renovating its American strategy to focus on customer experience and human connection, in contrast to the Luckin model.
“I think we move away from the idea of ’third place’, the experience of the cafeteria, making sure that the client was in front and the center,” said the CEO of Starbucks, Brian Niccol, to NBC News in June.
A Starbucks spokesman declined to comment.
Zolidis said that, while Starbucks points to both the US and China to attract customers looking for high -end coffee served in a cozy environment, Luckin has positioned himself successfully as the “Everyman Café” in China, with low prices and small shop windows.
After taking the train from Hoboken, New Jersey, to see the new one in Midtown, Samantha Coy said the trip was worth it. He had enjoyed Luckin in China and was eager to ask for one of his fruit drinks.
“I am surprised that Starbucks has not tried to bring that to the United States,” Coy said. “I hope you stay open.”
Zolidis said he believes that Luckin is well positioned to obtain a support point in the United States.
“They have been able to operate and grow incredibly quickly in the Chinese market, much faster than I would have believed possible, and have been able to maintain it and develop a solid financial model so that they can finance their expansion in the United States,” said Zolidis. “They would not come here to try it if they did not believe they had a photo of having part of the market.”
