China’s largest coffee chain Luckin Coffee has opened its first two stores in Malaysia with plans to have 200 outlets in the next two years.
The chain – with 20,000 outlets in China, doubling that of Starbucks – launched one of its stores in Subang Jaya city’s Sunway Pyramid mall, with all beverages offered at the discounted price of MYR2.99 (US$0.67), Nikkei Asia reported.
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A newly opened store of Luckin Coffee in Malaysia. Photo courtesy of Luckin Coffee |
Luckin made its first Southeast Asian presence in Singapore in April 2023 and has since increased its number of outlets there to 38.
Jeff Lim, Luckin Coffee’s Malaysia chief executive, said that the local coffee market is worth $1 billion and is forecast to grow 5% annually by 2029.
“This gives us significant room to introduce something different: Coffee as a lifestyle, not just a beverage.”
In Malaysia the Chinese brand will likely face stiff competition from local competitor ZUS Coffee, the biggest chain with close to 700 outlets, followed by Starbucks with almost 400 stores.
