s yet responded to media requests for comment. New window for Luckin Coffee Founded in California in 2002, Blue Bottle opened its first cafe in San Francisco in 2005 and became one of the defining brands of the specialty coffee movement in the US. Fresh roasting and carefully sourced beans became central to its brand identity, helping the company develop a reputation among coffee enthusiasts. Under Nestlé’s ownership, Blue Bottle expanded internationally, particularly in Asia. As of the end of last year, the company operated about 140 stores globally, including 31 in Asia. Compared with markets such as Japan and South Korea, Blue Bottle entered China relatively late. The company opened its first Mainland Chinese store in Shanghai in 2022 along Suzhou Creek, drawing large crowds and extensive social media attention. By the end of last year, the brand had expanded to 15 stores across Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Its Hangzhou cafe opened on November 14. Centurium’s acquisition of Blue Bottle is widely viewed as an effort to accelerate Luckin’s push into the premium segment. According to local media, Luckin had previously explored acquiring the Chinese specialty coffee chain M Stand.  However, the segment has become the most competitive part of China’s coffee market. Chinese premium coffee chain Manner Coffee, which operates more than 2000 stores in China, said it was considering an IPO in Hong Kong this year. Meanwhile, its rival M Stand, founded in 2017, has expanded to more than 560 stores across 38 cities in China. A bridge to overseas markets Centurium Capital is the largest shareholder of Luckin Coffee, holding 23.28 per cent of the company’s equity and 53.6 per cent of its voting rights. Last April, Centurium founder Li Hui became Luckin’s chairman and has since taken an active role in the company’s strategic planning and operations. Luckin’s scale has expanded rapidly. By year-end, Luckin had surpassed 31,000 stores globally, including more than 20,000 self-operated outlets in China, becoming the first food and beverage chain in the country to cross that threshold. The company’s co-founder and CEO, Jinyi Guo, described China’s coffee market as remaining “in a rapid growth phase” with significant structural opportunities ahead. But profitability has come under pressure as the Chinese coffee market becomes increasingly competitive. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Luckin reported revenue of 12.777 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion), up 32.9 per cent year-on-year. Net profit, however, fell 38 per cent from a year earlier, while operating margin declined from 10.5 per cent to 6.4 per cent. Same-store sales growth slowed to 1.2 per cent. Luckin’s international expansion has accelerated but remains heavily concentrated in Southeast Asia. By year-end, Luckin had 160 overseas stores: 81 self-operated in Singapore, 70 franchised in Malaysia and nine self-operated in the US. While Guo described the Malaysian business as entering “a phase of accelerated expansion” supported by lessons from Singapore, the US, by contrast, is considered a long-term exploration. “This actually makes sense for Luckin as it enters the US market after dominating China and forcing Starbucks to sell,” Margaret Nyamumbo, founder of coffee startup Kahawa, said on LinkedIn. “Luckin is the fastest-growing coffee chain in recent history despite a few bumps along the way caused by fraud.” She added that there is a ceiling on volume, and chasing the bottom of coffee prices, especially amid recent volatility, has diminishing returns. “It makes sense to own both the high and low end,” Nyamumbo said. “What remains to be seen is whether Blue Bottle can maintain the brand halo under new ownership or if customers will move on to other brands.” Further reading: Luckin Coffee’s 30,000-store moment: Can scale sustain China’s coffee boom?