Luckin Coffee opens 10,000th store, now beating Starbucks in China

CHINESE coffee giant Luckin Coffee opened its 10,000th store in the country, expanding its lead over American rival Starbucks as the two chains battle customer loyalty in a market expected to generate CNY1 trillion (US$140 billion) by 2025, reports Hong Kong's South China Morning Post.

Located in the centre of Luckin's headquarters city of Xiamen, in Fujian province, tstore is billed as the brand's first flagship store. It covers more than 600 square metres across two floors.

The company, which was formerly listed on the Nasdaq before  scandal forced it to delist, accomplished the 10,000-store milestone within six years. It had already surpassed Starbucks in terms of total stores in China in 2021.

Luckin Coffee opened 1,137 mainland China locations in the first quarter of this year, and also added stores in Singapore as it steps up efforts to expand internationally with Southeast Asia as a priority.