Source:
https://scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/2163101/tencent-signs-partnership-deal-coffee-startup-luckin-challenge-alibaba
Tech/ Big Tech

Tencent signs partnership deal with coffee startup Luckin in challenge to Alibaba-Starbucks tie-up

The market for on-demand local services has become a hotly contested field among China’s internet giants because it serves as an entry point to other services, such as mobile payments, and also provides further insight into consumer spending patterns

The market for on-demand local services has become a hotly contested field among China’s internet giants because it serves as an entry point to other services, such as mobile payments, and also provides further insight into consumer spending patterns.

China’s two biggest technology companies are extending their competition to coffee.
Tencent Holdings, the social media and payments giant, announced a partnership with Chinese coffee start-up Luckin on Thursday. The tie-up comes a month after Alibaba Group Holding’s Ele.me unit signed a partnership with Starbucks.
Luckin Coffee confirms US$200m in new funding as it aims for even faster delivery

“We hope the cooperation with Luckin coffee will create a new lifestyle of ‘smart retail’ through tie-up on user traffic, technology exploration, application scenarios and management abilities,” said Lei Maofeng, deputy general manager of Tencent's payment platform WeChat Pay. “Coffee has become a popular drink for young people nowadays and there are more coffee industry practitioners.”