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23-04-2019, 05:56 PM
China's Starbucks Challenger Files for U.S. IPO
> Luckin applies to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LK
> Firm seeks to unseat Starbucks as China’s biggest coffee chain
By Yueqi Yang
April 23, 2019, 3:15 AM GMT+7 Updated on April 23, 2019, 9:47 AM GMT+7
Luckin Coffee Inc., the ambitious startup that is challenging Starbucks Corp. in the race to dominate China’s growing coffee culture, filed for a U.S. initial public offering.
The Beijing-based company applied to list American depositary shares on Nasdaq under the ticker LK. The coffee unicorn is said to plan to raise around $300 million in the IPO, Bloomberg News reported in February. Last week, Luckin raised $150 million from BlackRock and other investors at a valuation of $2.9 billion.
Luckin is spending millions of dollars a year opening outlets to unseat Starbucks as China’s top coffee company. Since its inception in June 2017, Luckin has quickly expanded into 2,370 stores in 28 cities, with backing from investors including Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte and China International Capital Corp. By the end of this year, Luckin aims to become the largest coffee network in China in terms of number of stores.
It faces an uphill battle against Starbucks, which entered China 20 years ago and dominates with more than 50 percent of the market last year, according to Euromonitor. Luckin held only a 2.1 percent share in 2018. Starbucks has more than 3,700 outlets in the country and is also expanding at break-neck speed, opening a new store roughly every 15 hours. It’s aiming to have 6,000 sites in China by 2023.
China may become an increasingly important market for coffee retailers due to the country’s low per-capita consumption of the beverage and rising middle-class affluence, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote in January. Coffee consumption is estimated to grow by roughly 3 percent a year through 2023, according to Euromonitor.
Luckin, with a focus on convenience and affordability, is seeking to lure urban office workers who don’t need the big plush spaces offered by Starbucks. Many customers are initially attracted to the coffee chain by its free vouchers, and the company plans to keep investing heavily in discounts and deals.
More details in https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...emium-asia
> Luckin applies to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LK
> Firm seeks to unseat Starbucks as China’s biggest coffee chain
By Yueqi Yang
April 23, 2019, 3:15 AM GMT+7 Updated on April 23, 2019, 9:47 AM GMT+7
Luckin Coffee Inc., the ambitious startup that is challenging Starbucks Corp. in the race to dominate China’s growing coffee culture, filed for a U.S. initial public offering.
The Beijing-based company applied to list American depositary shares on Nasdaq under the ticker LK. The coffee unicorn is said to plan to raise around $300 million in the IPO, Bloomberg News reported in February. Last week, Luckin raised $150 million from BlackRock and other investors at a valuation of $2.9 billion.
Luckin is spending millions of dollars a year opening outlets to unseat Starbucks as China’s top coffee company. Since its inception in June 2017, Luckin has quickly expanded into 2,370 stores in 28 cities, with backing from investors including Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte and China International Capital Corp. By the end of this year, Luckin aims to become the largest coffee network in China in terms of number of stores.
It faces an uphill battle against Starbucks, which entered China 20 years ago and dominates with more than 50 percent of the market last year, according to Euromonitor. Luckin held only a 2.1 percent share in 2018. Starbucks has more than 3,700 outlets in the country and is also expanding at break-neck speed, opening a new store roughly every 15 hours. It’s aiming to have 6,000 sites in China by 2023.
China may become an increasingly important market for coffee retailers due to the country’s low per-capita consumption of the beverage and rising middle-class affluence, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts wrote in January. Coffee consumption is estimated to grow by roughly 3 percent a year through 2023, according to Euromonitor.
Luckin, with a focus on convenience and affordability, is seeking to lure urban office workers who don’t need the big plush spaces offered by Starbucks. Many customers are initially attracted to the coffee chain by its free vouchers, and the company plans to keep investing heavily in discounts and deals.
More details in https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...emium-asia
Specuvestor: Asset - Business - Structure.
