Coffee Chains in China

In a previous post about Starbucks, we talked about its potential in China.

China’s coffee consumption will explode, even considering major cities alone. Younger generations will consume more coffee and they will represent an increasing proportion of the overall urban population.

China coffee consumption potential | Source: Starbucks 6/19 Presentation

Everyone sees the market and opportunities – one of the most eye-catching player is Luckin Coffee (瑞幸咖啡), who just filed to be listed on Nasdaq.

Image result for Luckin Coffee
Source: TechCrunch

The expansion in terms of coverage & number of stores is very impressive: 9 stores by the end of 2017 and 2,370 stores by the end of 2019Q1, although most (91.3 %) of them are pick-up stores (see above).

By comparison, in May 2018, Starbucks announced that it is planning to build nearly 3,000 new stores in mainland China over the next few years (from 3,300 in 2018Q1 to 6,000 before the end of 2022).

Things to notice:

    • Luckin Coffee outsourced delivery services mainly to S.F. Express (顺丰控股SHE: 002352)
    • Luckin’s investors are mainly related to UCAR INC. (神州优车 NEEQ:838006)
    • Didn’t see GIC or BlackRock or Legend Capital as major shareholders (>5%)
    • Loss is significant: ¥527 million operation loss on ¥361 million revenue in 2019Q1 (-110.1%)
    • No significant revenue growth from 2018Q4 to 2019Q1: 465,433k to 478,510k (+2.8%)
    • There was a decrease in advertising cost: 127,372 in 2018Q4 -> 93,080 in 2018Q4 -> 40,143 in 2019Q1