A serial entrepreneur who has run 2 multibillion-dollar Chinese startups backed the country’s fastest growing coffee chain—and is its largest shareholder
A scrappy startup that aims to overtake Starbucks in the world’s second-largest economy has grown so much that an early investor is now a billionaire. Luckin Coffee, a fast-growing Chinese company with 2,370 stores in the country, has filed to go public on New York’s Nasdaq stock exchange. Charles Zhengyao Lu, who was one of its earliest backers and is now its chairman, has become billionaire thanks to his prescient investment in the Xiamen-based firm.
UCar differentiated itself from its competitors by buying its own fleet and offering professional drivers. Lu, who stepped down as Car Inc.’s chief executive in 2016, now runs UCar as CEO and chairman, and has diversified the business to include car dealerships and car financing services. The startup is now listed on China’s over-the-counter stock exchange and has a valuation of over $6.5 billion. His stake in Car Inc. is worth nearly $500 million, making his total net worth an estimated $1.
Unlike Starbucks’ expansive cafes, which encourage lounging, over 90% of Luckin Coffee’s shops are pick-up stores located in high traffic areas like office buildings and college campuses. The cashless stores typically have limited seating and simple interiors, allowing Luckin Coffee to use the cost savings to undercut Starbucks on pricing.
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