瑞幸：“涅槃重生”之路

This case describes the changes in Luckin Coffee's overall strategy, business model, and operations strategy after its financial fraud scandal broke. More specifically, before the news was circulated, Luckin Coffee expanded rapidly by opening new stores, securing substantial financing, and heavily subsidizing customers. At that time, it relied heavily on a data-driven new retail system, which enabled it to acquire customers online and fulfill orders in physical stores. After the news hit the wire, Luckin Coffee inundated with orders as consumers voiced concerns about Luckin stores' potential closure and scrambled to redeem their coupons before it was too late. While keeping physical stores open for business, Luckin Coffee's new management team formulated a new operations strategy in pursuit of good financial results. In practice, Luckin Coffee revitalized its brand by appealing to a younger demographic, developed self-owned marketing channels, rolled out new products quickly, and streamlined store operations. All this boosted its sales. As a result, in August 2022, Luckin Coffee claimed in its Q2 financial report that it had "risen from the ashes". However, at that time, the Chinese coffee market was already much more competitive, and had been flooded with new brands backed by big investors. Was the company's growth sustainable in the long run? How could it stay competitive?