Rachael Davis
When it comes to high street coffee, there’s likely one brand in particular that springs to mind.
Since its 1971 inception in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, Starbucks has become a global heavyweight in convenient, tasty, and (relatively) affordable coffee. Its colourful menu of coffee options, iced drinks, smoothies and deli-esque grub has won countless dedicated fans.
Up against such a seemingly unassailable titan, you’d think international coffee chains would be shy about encroaching upon its territory, but one Chinese brand reckons it’s up to the challenge.
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Luckin Coffee Inc is the chain in question, and it’s already managed to clamber over Starbucks’ dominance in its home country.
In step with its rampant success in China, the brand is now eyeing a more aggressive international expansion strategy that has seen it open its first US location.
The US’s first Luckin Coffee chains opened on June 30th in New York, with those two being the first in what could be the pebbles preceding an avalanche across the nation.
It’s entered the market at a relatively good time, with Starbucks currently making strategic pivots under new CEO and Justin Trudeau lookalike Brian Niccol amidst a drop in US sales.
Having undercut Starbucks on price in China, it seems that the brand is pursuing a similar strategy in the US. Customers can currently pick up a $1.99 drink deal via the Luckin app. A Caffe Americano at Starbucks starts at $4.78.
Despite its success in China, Luckin Coffee hit troubled waters with a 2020 accounting scandal that saw it delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange. Leadership changes followed the scandal, and the chain rapidly grew to overtake Starbucks in China as the country’s biggest coffee chain in 2023.
The accounting scandal saw the SEC charge Luckin with defrauding investors with illegitimate revenue figures, expenses, and net operating losses. Luckin Coffee agreed to pay a $180 million (£132mn) penalty over the charges.
“Public issuers who access our markets, regardless of where they are located, must not provide false or misleading information to investors,” said Stephanie Avakian, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, in a statement at the time.
“While there are challenges in our ability to effectively hold foreign issuers and their officers and directors accountable to the same extent as U.S. issuers and persons, we will continue to use all our available resources to protect investors when foreign issuers violate the federal securities laws.”