Fast Company, the New York-based industry observer, recently unveiled its well-known annual “Most Innovative Companies” list for 2019. This year’s ranking shines a light on Chinese companies, notably Meituan Dianping, China’s largest group-buying platform, which ousted Apple from the top position as the world’s most innovative company. Singapore-based car hailing company Grab and the American National Basketball Association (NBA) secured second and third place, respectively.
On its regional list of China, Fast Company deemed the “new retail” coffee chain luckin coffee (luckin) the nation’s 8th most innovative company. Explaining its decision, Fast Company commented, “Luckin is working quickly to make coffee-drinking a habit in China” through fast-growing outposts, innovative app-powered networks, and competitive prices.
“Its lower cost and willingness to offer coupons for future purchases has allowed Luckin to quickly become a value challenger to Starbucks, which is a premium brand in China,” Fast Company added.
Other notable innovative Chinese companies include VIPKID, an online English education platform backed by Tencent, as well as NIO, China’s leading EV maker that last year got listed on NYSE.
Luckin coffee is headquartered in Xiamen in Southeast China and launched its pilot program in January 2018. By the end of 2018, it had opened 2,073 stores in 22 major cities across China, with 12.5 million customers served and 89.7 million cups sold. It’s 2019 goal is to surpass Starbucks to become the largest coffee chain in China and achieve a total of 4,500 operating coffee shops across the country by the end of the year.
The Most Innovative Companies list seeks to identify businesses that exert profound influence or offer strong contributions to industries. Each year, Fast Company’s ranking considers businesses across 35 industries in various regions of the world.
（Photo from luckin coffee)