Luckin Coffee ($LK), the Chinese coffee chain that's been opening new locations at a thundrous rate, has continued its expansion spree in the past month, opening an average of 7.3 new shops per day. As of September 22, Luckin lists 3,833 locations, compared to 3,614 on August 22. In other words, in the past month, it's opened 219 stores in roughly 30 days.
That means the chain has opened an average of 7.3 stores per day in the past month. While this is still a rapid clip, it's actually a slightly (and we mean very slightly) slower clip than last month, when we were seeing it open 9-15 stores per day.
Overall, the company remains ahead its 8-stores-per-day opening pace that it promised last year.
Luckin's blistering expansion had some curious — even concerned — about Starbuck's ($SBUX) role and dominance in the Chinese market. The Seattle-based has done its best to keep up with Luckin as it's continued to open new stores in China at an also-impressive clip.
In July, Starbucks cracked the 4,000 store count in China, but as the graph above clearly shows, Luckin is on pace to pass up Starbucks within months in terms of location count. In the past month, while Luckin opened 219 locations, Starbucks' store count in China increased by "just" 76 stores.
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:
- Luckin Coffee closing gap on Starbucks in China with more than 3,500 locations
- How Luckin Coffee is about to beat Starbucks at its own game in China
- Luckin Coffee is now opening 8 shops per day as it debuts on NASDAQ
