Luckin Coffee opened two stores simultaneously in New York, but without discounts, it's even more expensive than Starbucks?
Author | Xia Sijia
Editor | Qiao Qian
After five years, Luckin didn't return to the NASDAQ, but it opened stores in New York.
On June 30, 2025, Luckin Coffee officially opened its first two stores in New York, located at 755 Broadway and 800 Sixth Avenue respectively. On the opening day, the stores launched a promotion where customers could order drinks via the official app for only $1.99. According to consumers who visited the stores, in addition to several popular products available in China, Luckin's New York stores also introduced new items such as Raspberry cold brew. Additionally, there were also a small number of desserts like bagels, cookies, and chocolate cakes for sale.
It's worth mentioning that Luckin started testing the waters in New York streets ten days before the official store opening. From June 20th to 24th, they held four pop - up events in Union Square, SoHo, Madison Square, and Herald Square. Each location was chosen in one of the busiest areas of New York: these areas are densely populated, have a strong social atmosphere, and are landmark areas where trendy people, white - collar workers, and tourists gather.
The main purpose of the pop - up events was to promote Luckin's official app and create a buzz on overseas social media. There were staff members on - site to guide consumers to queue up and download the app. During the process, consumers needed to fill in basic information such as their names, phone numbers, and email addresses. After registration, they could get a free cup of coffee and had a chance to participate in a lucky draw for "free coffee for a whole year" — this attracted many people to stop and participate. Meanwhile, Luckin also encouraged people to follow its social media accounts and post content with specific tags by giving away canvas bags.
The combination of offline and online activities, along with real - deal freebies, quickly attracted a large amount of attention for Luckin in a short period. During the event, even though the weather was hot, the venues were crowded. On June 22nd, at the event site in Madison Square, the queue started from Madison Avenue where the coffee truck was located, turned a corner, and stretched all the way to East 36th Street.
However, the popularity and crowds didn't lead to chaos. "There were about seventy or eighty people in front of me, but the line moved very fast," said Coco, a recent graduate and international student. She observed that the food trucks on - site had a clear division of labor — some were responsible for taking orders, some for making drinks, and others for distributing freebies. The whole process was well - organized. However, she said that to improve efficiency and avoid congestion, the drinks given away during the event were pre - made, so consumers couldn't adjust the sugar or milk content according to their personal tastes. This somewhat reduced the overall experience.
Coco also told 36Kr that Luckin recruited many volunteers with African - American and Latino backgrounds during the pop - up events, which also helped the brand attract more attention from local American consumers to some extent. From the on - site queuing situation, the Chinese community was still the main force — roughly estimated, about 70% were Chinese students or workers in the United States, and the rest were composed of locals and tourists in approximately equal proportions.
Luckin's pop - up store in New York. Image source: official
Whether it was the previous pop - up events or the currently officially opened stores, Luckin didn't choose areas with a high concentration of Chinese people like Flushing. Instead, it set its sights on neighborhoods where various ethnic groups gather and are close to the city center. This store - location strategy clearly shows its determination to enter the US local market.
Luckin's entry also caught the attention of mainstream US media such as CBS and the New York Post. CNN even used a title like "Starbucks, watch out: China's largest coffee chain opens its first store in the US" in its report.
The relevant person in charge of WEFOOD, a US food and beverage consulting company based in New York, told 36Kr that the current two Luckin stores are not located in prime A+ locations like "large shopping malls", but in urban hub - type neighborhoods with a stable flow of people, which are B+ level high - quality locations. Compared with the expensive core business districts, these neighborhoods offer a better balance between cost and customer flow, which also reflects Luckin's confidence in its brand positioning, pricing strategy, and operational capabilities.
As she understood, Luckin is seriously building a local operation team. It started recruiting management trainees through public channels early on and has already trained the first batch of future store managers at its base in New Jersey. "This is also eye - catching," she said. "It shows that they are seriously entering the US market and not simply expanding by selling the brand to franchisees right away."
However, as the main battlefield of the global coffee market, competition in New York is extremely fierce. The areas around Luckin's two stores are already densely populated with coffee brands. If you zoom out on Google Maps a bit, you can see that there are dozens of coffee shops nearby, and of course, its biggest competitor, Starbucks, is among them. The relevant person in charge of WEFOOD pointed out: "In Manhattan, Starbucks is almost everywhere, and it's hard to avoid."
As is well - known, the United States is one of the largest coffee - consuming countries in the world. According to data released by the Coffee Finance Network, Americans drink 400 million cups of coffee every day. In 2023 alone, this market generated nearly $85 billion in revenue. There are about 150 million coffee drinkers in the United States, nearly half of the total population. Among them, 60% drink one or two cups of coffee a day, and about 36% drink three to five cups a day. When asked "Do you drink coffee every day?", 73% of the respondents answered yes.
It can be said that coffee has become deeply ingrained in the American lifestyle. The huge consumer base also provides more room for competition among brands.
"There are actually more coffee brands in the US than we think," CC, an international student studying for a master's degree in New York, told 36Kr. "Many people only know Starbucks before coming to the US, but there are actually many local brands that haven't expanded to China. There are hundreds of stores of some brands just in New York." However, she believes that Luckin's arrival still brings a sense of freshness and anticipation to the international student community. "It has more new flavors, like bubble fruit coffee, which Starbucks doesn't sell."
In the United States, flavored coffee is not the mainstream. Local residents prefer traditional coffee like Americano and cold brew with high caffeine content and pay more attention to the quality of coffee beans. Therefore, the relevant person in charge of WEDOOD believes that Luckin still has room to break through, but only if its products are professional, and it's best to target the Asian and pro - Asian communities as its initial base in the United States. First, stabilize its position, and then gradually expand.
Of course, the more crucial question is how Luckin can find a development model suitable for itself in the United States and reasonably balance rent, pricing, and labor costs. In China, Luckin overtook Starbucks in terms of revenue in 2023 by implementing a low - price strategy of 9.9 yuan per cup, becoming the largest coffee brand in the country. However, in the US market with high prices and heavy labor costs, replicating this strategy is more challenging and costly.
"A tea - beverage brand had two franchise stores close down within a year. In China, labor is cheap, and the low - labor - cost model can't be directly applied in the US. Some franchisees only realized that the labor cost was much higher than expected after joining, and the pay - back period was significantly extended," revealed the relevant person in charge of WEFOOD. She believes that Luckin is currently planning to save labor costs through some model innovations, such as promoting app - based ordering on a large scale and reducing in - store manual ordering, so as to offer more benefits to consumers.
As 36Kr learned, Luckin's current "coffee for $1.99" promotion is limited to two cups per user, and the discount period is temporarily only within July. It's not clear yet whether the discount will continue or what the discount level will be in the future. If the original price is restored, Luckin's pricing in the US is actually not low. Take the 16 - ounce Cold Brew as an example. Luckin's original price is $4.95, while Starbucks only charges $4.75, which is even $0.2 cheaper. The original prices of other Luckin drinks are generally between $5 and $7, without an obvious price advantage.
This makes CC, the international student, a bit worried. In China, Luckin has always relied on issuing coupons to lower the price, but she's not sure if this strategy can be continued in the US. She recalled that when Cotti first entered the US market, it also issued coupons, but now it has stopped, and the price of its drinks has risen back to $4 - $5 per cup.
Image source: interviewee
Although CC likes Luckin's flavored coffee, she told 36Kr that if the price returns to the original $6.75 per cup, it will exceed her expectation and affordability. In a city like New York, where coffee shops are dense and there are many choices, for price - sensitive consumers like her, the price of a cup of coffee often directly determines whether they will enter the store to consume.
In addition to the uncertainty of the pricing strategy, Luckin also faces some real challenges in digital operations.
As a digital brand that has relied on its app since its inception, Luckin has always adhered to the fast - transaction model of "order online and pick up at the store". In the US, Luckin also tries to continue this model. However, since the end of 2020, New York City has officially banned "cashless" businesses (i.e., businesses that only accept electronic payments and not cash). Some other major cities, including San Francisco and Philadelphia, also have similar legal regulations.
"US laws especially protect the rights of the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled to have equal access to commercial services," the relevant person in charge of WEFOOD told 36Kr. "If a customer who can't use a smartphone can't order with cash or a credit card in the store; or a person with limited mobility can't get counter assistance, the store may be sued, fined, or even shut down for rectification."
She also observed on - site that the mandatory app - based ordering model discouraged some local consumers. Some local consumers entered the store, found that they had to download the app and enter personal information and phone numbers, and "left unhappily".
She suggested that Chinese brands that are planning to go global and enter the US market must adjust their thinking early and truly understand and adapt to local needs. "Especially for catering entrepreneurs with rich and successful experience in China, they may take the tried - and - true principles they've learned from opening stores in China as common sense. But in the US, these may not hold true at all," she said.