Luckin Coffee eyes expansion in China to take on Starbucks

One of Starbucks' leading challengers in China - Luckin Coffee - vowed on Wednesday to open 10,000 stores in the country by 2021 and expand its non-coffee sector despite questions about its plan to achieve profitability.

Qian Zhiya, CEO of Luckin Coffee, said the 22-month-old coffee house is going to add 8,000 new stores in less than three years, which means eight more stores per day on average.

She added the company will reach 2,500 stores by the end of this year to become the country's largest coffee chain operator in terms of number of outlets and cups sold.