Is Luckin or Starbucks bigger in China?
And while the brand may be fresh on the U. S. Luckin has already surpassed Starbucks by store count in China. As Food & Wine reported, the chain was founded in Beijing in 2017, opened more than 26,000 stores in more than 200 cities in less than a decade, and boasts nearly 92 million customers per month. By 2023, Luckin Coffee crossed $3. Starbucks’s Chinese operations. Since then, it has scaled rapidly. Luckin currently has over 26,000 locations, most of them in China. Starbucks has around 8,000 stores in China.Luckin usually selects locations with high traffic and reasonable rents to open stores. Although the individual store rent expenses may be large, Luckin Coffee’s extensive network of stores allows it to achieve economies of scale, resulting in lower average costs in the long run.Luckin Coffee has launched in the U. S. Manhattan, challenging Starbucks. It is known for its low-priced drinks and cashierless model in China. Luckin Coffee, the biggest coffee chain in China, is now formally open in the United States, competing with Starbucks.Luckin Coffee, Cotti Coffee, and Starbucks are the three dominant brands leading the market in China. Starbucks, which entered Beijing in 1999, initially spearheaded the café revolution, establishing itself as a symbol of luxury and a lifestyle brand.Starbucks’ success in China can be attributed to its strategic approach to market entry and localization. By adapting its menu and store design to Chinese culture and preferences, and by engaging with customers through social media and other channels, Starbucks was able to establish a strong brand presence in China.
Is China’s Starbucks biggest market?
While China is still Starbucks’ second largest market behind the United States, growth has stalled. Dozens of competitors to Starbucks spin out new flavors of tea and coffee every week, at lower prices, creating competition so ferocious that Starbucks saw a 14 percent plunge in same-store sales in China in its most recent financial quarter.Starbucks (United States) – 33,900+ locations: The global coffee leader has stores in over 80 countries.What is this? Facing stiff competition from budget‑friendly rivals such as Luckin, Starbucks’ revenue from China reportedly fell from approximately $3. Shanghai market share halved to roughly 19% by early 2025.After all, the coffee giant had already achieved global dominance, with thousands of stores worldwide. However, just a few years later, Starbucks closed 61 of its 84 Australian stores, admitting that it had failed to gain traction.
Who is Starbucks’ biggest competitor?
Key competitors include Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s. Starbucks also faces competition when it comes to coffee products available for purchase outside of brick-and-mortar cafes from brands like Nespresso, Folgers, Keurig, and Maxwell House. Luckin Coffee is opening its first U. S. Luckin Coffee, the largest coffee chain in China, has opened a pair of locations in New York. And that could put an added emphasis on Starbucks’ ongoing turnaround plans, as Luckin has grown to outnumber that company in China, with 22,000 locations.Luckin Coffee Inc. Chinese: 瑞幸咖啡; pinyin: Ruìxìng Kāfēi) is a Chinese coffee company and coffeehouse chain founded in Beijing in 2017. In July 2025, Luckin had 26,206 stores globally.Starbucks, Luckin Coffee and Dunkin’ are the three largest coffee companies in the world, respectively. The largest coffee houses typically have substantial supply-chain relations with the world’s major coffee-producing countries.Founded in 2017, Luckin Coffee is the fastest-growing coffee chain in China with over 22,000 locations and as well as dozens in Singapore.
Who is Starbucks biggest competitor in China?
Beating Starbucks Perhaps the biggest storyline has been Luckin’s dominance over Starbucks in China. The number of Luckins overtook Starbucks in China in 2019, giving them the confidence to plot a US expansion. Luckin Coffee has dominated the java-slinging business in its home country, where it overtook Starbucks as the largest coffee chain both by total sales and number of locations back in 2023. Now it’s setting its sights on the U. S. New York City.Luckin Coffee — the longtime rival of Starbucks China — has surpassed the Seattle-based coffee giant in revenue for the first time this quarter, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.Luckin was founded in Beijing in 2017 and quickly dethroned Starbucks as China’s coffee king. It offers an abundance of creative lattes made with arabica beans and a gamelike app that provides users with an addictive feed of coupons.Starbucks’ huge new rival opens first US stores When comparing their menus, Luckin Coffee clearly acknowledges Starbucks as a competitor. Both chains carry handcrafted coffee beverages, frappes, matcha drinks, and refreshers. Their prices are also very similar, with a 16-ounce drip coffee costing $3.In the statement released last week, the CEO added that Starbucks has opened numerous coffeehouses over the past year and the overall company-operated count in North America will decline by about 1% in fiscal year 2025 after accounting for both openings and closures.
What is the largest coffee chain in China?
Luckin has grown rapidly in China, with its number of stores in the country surpassing Starbucks, although the latter still remains the largest coffee chain globally. Luckin has grown rapidly in China, with its number of stores in the country surpassing Starbucks, although the latter still remains the largest coffee chain globally. Luckin has set itself apart with frequent, immediate deals for customers, innovative drinks, and an efficient technology-driven ordering system.Luckin overtook Starbucks as China’s biggest coffee chain in 2023. If Chinese people want Chinese coffee, so be it. It’s a big world. Luckin knows that, which is why it has just opened up two outlets in New York City, on Starbucks’ doorstep.Starbucks currently operate more than 6,500+ stores in over 250 cities in the Chinese mainland, employing more than 60,000 partners.One of busiest and most crowd starbucks in the world is located at Shanghai, National Convention center. Long queue makes me wait 20 minutes to place the coffee order and was asked to wait another 20 minutes to have coffee. It’s reallt made me silly.
Why is Starbucks not popular in China?
Therefore, many attribute Starbucks’ decline to the lower prices of domestic competitors such as Luckin and Cotti Coffee. Price, however, is not the only factor—and it is probably not even the most important one. A decade ago, when Starbucks entered China, it carried the aura of a high-end Western lifestyle. The U. S. China are easily Starbucks’ largest markets, accounting for more than 61% of all Starbucks locations, and also have the most stores under direct company control.Although China remains Starbucks’ second-largest market after the United States, Starbucks China has seen sluggish growth in recent years.Starbucks used several strategies to enter the Chinese market successfully, including thorough market research, cultural adaptation, digital integration, local partnerships, and rapid expansion.Starbucks’ China revenue has stalled Over the same period revenue climbed only 4. Against this backdrop, bidders’ reported valuation multiple may not be so bad.