What happened when Luckin Coffee opened 15 new stores?

On May 20, Luckin Coffee opened 15 directly operated stores on the same day, 11 in Urumqi, Xinjiang, and 4 in Lhasa, Tibet, saying the brand now covers every province in the country. Opening day drew long lines, with some pickup waits over three hours, and limited cup sleeves and paper bags sold out fast.

The surge also brought complaints: delivery delays, prices that differ between third-party platforms and the mini-program, orders that could not be refunded, and customers removed from group chats after raising issues. The brand misjudged local demand and lacked enough service capacity, leaving quality control under pressure in the new market.

On May 20, Luckin opened 15 directly operated stores simultaneously in Urumqi and Lhasa, announcing that the brand now covers every province in the country. On opening day, 11 Urumqi stores and 4 Lhasa stores drew huge crowds, with some stores seeing wait times of more than three hours for pickup, and limited-edition cup sleeves and paper bags quickly sold out. Yet along with the popularity came a string of complaints: severe delivery delays, inconsistent pricing between third-party platforms and the mini-program, orders that could not be refunded, and even customers being removed from corporate group chats and blocked for speaking in the group. The brand underestimated local consumer enthusiasm and lacked adequate response measures, putting service and quality control under pressure. Judging from the experience of brands such as Front Street entering Xinjiang, a booming opening in a new market is not surprising, but how to balance traffic and experience remains an issue Luckin needs to face squarely.

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On May 20, major brands seized on the holiday buzz to roll out limited-time campaigns to drive spending. In terms of scale and noise, Luckin, which opened 15 new stores in one day, was undoubtedly the most eye-catching.

(Image from Luckin's Xiaohongshu account)

It is understood that Luckin arranged 11 directly operated stores in Urumqi, Xinjiang, and 4 directly operated stores in Lhasa, Tibet, with all 15 stores opening their doors on the same day according to a set pace. To build momentum for this large-scale simultaneous opening and to commemorate Luckin's store map covering every province in the country, during the opening campaign the brand released exclusive cup sleeves and paper bags available only at Urumqi stores.

Previously, many consumers had been urging Luckin to open stores in regions such as Xinjiang and Tibet, and with the brand now officially entering in response to public demand, local customers were naturally thrilled, with orders pouring onto the counter like a tide. On opening day, all 11 stores saw lines of varying degrees, and at some stores the wait for pickup even exceeded three hours.

As for those limited-edition cup sleeves and paper bags, consumers reported that several especially popular stores exhausted their merchandise stock by the morning, leaving users who wanted to collect the merchandise empty-handed .

In addition, according to store employees, because local customers were especially supportive, store sales remained above a thousand cups for several consecutive days after opening. To respond to customers' enthusiasm, staff had been operating under overload conditions.

However, along with the store order surge came a flood of customer complaints: deliveries could not arrive on time and were severely delayed, there were obvious pricing differences between third-party platforms and the mini-program, and customers who wanted to cancel orders could not find a refund entry point. Some consumers even reported being kicked out of the store's corporate group and blocked because they chatted in the group.

According to chat records shared by this consumer, while talking with other customers in the group, she shared her own consumption experience and suggested that everyone order in advance. But afterward she found that she had been removed from the group chat by "Luckin Chief Welfare Officer Lucky" and could not rejoin, apparently because her account had been blocked. Later, Luckin took the initiative to contact the consumer and apologized for removing her from the group chat without reason.

Referring to the booming scenes when brands such as Heytea and Chagee previously entered Xinjiang, Luckin should have anticipated the booming scene after the new stores opened, which is why it arranged for 11 stores to operate simultaneously, using multiple stores taking orders at the same time to cope with the surge in orders on opening day .

In fact, Luckin still underestimated the enthusiasm of the people in Xinjiang, and several well-located stores were operating under overload. In response to this situation, the brand failed to put adequate measures in place, such as stopping order acceptance when stores could not handle large volumes of orders or temporarily closing various ordering channels.

Consumers also said they knew the opening would be busy, but had not imagined it would reach such a degree. Waiting several hours for one drink, store service being almost nonexistent amid the urging of orders, and after-sales responses to customer complaints being completely unable to keep up all created a rather poor experience.

Perhaps only after local residents' enthusiasm for Luckin fades will the stores return to a normal state that ensures product quality control and service quality.

Image source: Xiaohongshu

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.