Just two weeks ago, we reported that Luckin Coffee grew to 3,348 locations in China, indicating that the coffee chain was making good on its IPO-era plans to launch 8 stores per day.

But since then, Luckin has reported openings of another 183 stores. That's right — since July 20, Luckin has launched and listed an average of 9.15 stores per day, beating its own pace estimates.

In that same period, Starbucks is showing an additional 38 locations in China — an average of just 1.9 openings per day. As you see in the chart above, Starbucks still outnumbers Luckin in China, but at the current rate of growth, it's plausible that the delivery-focused startup could surpass the Seattle giant in China by year's end.

The current outlay of Luckin and Starbucks stores in China are relatively similar, but with Luckin more concentrated in major population areas. And in the top-10 cities where Luckin is concentrating its locations, it's already beating Starbucks in 8 of 10. 

City

Luckin

Starbucks

Difference

Shanghai

474

774

-300

Beijing

424

338

86

Guangzhou

251

213

38

Shenzhen

225

176

49

Hangzhou

214

254

-40

Nanjing

189

129

60

Chengdu

173

162

11

Chongqing

150

82

68

Tianjin

143

104

39

Wuhan

140

111

29

In other words, it looks as though Luckin is going after Starbucks here it hurts the most: major population centers where daily workers need their coffee.

About the Data: 

Thinknum tracks companies using information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales. 

Further Reading: