What Should Starbucks China Have Done About Luckin Coffee? (Tech Strategy – Podcast 3)

Jeffrey Towson discusses what Starbucks China could have done to respond to the rise of Luckin Coffee. He argues that Starbucks should have focused on its strengths, such as its brand and its loyalty program, and that it should have been more aggressive in expanding its store network. He also notes that Starbucks could have learned from Luckin’s innovative marketing and pricing strategies.

While Luckin Fights Starbucks, HeyTea Has Lines Out the Door in China (pt 2 of 2)

In Part 1, I argued that Starbucks China most interesting competitor is not Luckin Coffee. It is HeyTea, an upscale Starbucks-type business focused on tea (something Chinese consumers really, really like). And to their credit, HeyTea appears to be mostly focusing not on digital (or financial engineering) but on product development and continually thrilling their […]

Forget Luckin. Starbucks’ Most Interesting China Competitor is HeyTea (pt 1 of 2)

So Luckin Coffee has gone public and there are big questions about their revenue growth vs. operating losses. They are building an F&B business fast and aggressively against still unclear demand. But HeyTea is the Starbucks challenger I am keeping an eye on. They have long been referred to as the “Starbucks of tea”. And […]