&Amp; Quota; Li Kui; Quota; Lost to& Quota; Li Gui& Quota& Amp; Quota; Li Gui& Quota; Also include& Quota; Li Kui; Quota; Announced. This dramatic scene is unfolding between Luckin Coffee and the Royal 50R Group of Thailand.
According to multiple media reports in Thailand, on the morning of December 19th, the Royal 50R Group of Thailand officially filed a lawsuit with the court, demanding that the court order China Luckin Coffee to compensate for economic losses of 10 billion Thai baht (about 2 billion RMB). The court has filed and accepted this case.
The Royal Thai 50R Group's move is quite significant; Quota; Chase after victory; Quota; Meaning. The Royal 50R Group of Thailand has registered the Luckin Coffee brand trademark in Thailand and has been opening stores in the past two years. Previously, Luckin Coffee issued a statement stating that it was operating under the& Quota; Counterfeit stores; Quota;. On December 1st, the Central Court of Intellectual Property and International Trade of Thailand announced the final verdict on the case of China Luckin Coffee Company accusing the Royal 50R Group of infringing trademark copyright in Thailand - ruling China Luckin Coffee Company against the case and immediately enforcing it.
Despite losing the trademark case and now facing lawsuits, Luckin Coffee, which is determined to go global, may face greater obstacles in expanding into the Thai market in the future.
On December 20th, regarding the lawsuit filed by the Royal 50R Group of Thailand, Time Weekly contacted the relevant person in charge of Luckin Coffee, but as of the time of publication, no response has been received. At around 1:30 pm on December 20th, Luckincoffee's official Weibo account @ Luckincoffee stated that "the situation regarding the claim of 10 billion Thai baht by Thai fake Luckincoffee still needs to be verified.".
@Screenshot of Luckincoffee Weibo
Being smashed by Thai Luckin
The direct confrontation between Luckin Coffee and Luckin Thailand began a year ago.
As early as early 2022, some netizens reported drinking in Thailand; Quota; Luckin Coffee; Quota;, Except for the Thai text and the opposite direction of the Little Deer logo, the other design elements are almost the same as those of Luckin Coffee in China. But at that time, Luckin Coffee denied opening a store in Thailand and referred to the aforementioned store as a counterfeit one.
In August 2022, Luckin Coffee issued an urgent rebuttal notice stating that it had not opened a store in Thailand. Luckin Coffee also stated that the above-mentioned Thai stores& Quota; Looking left at the deer; Quota; The logo and direct use of the Luckin coffee name have caused serious damage to the Luckin brand. The relevant departments of the company have taken legal measures to protect their rights. Friends living in Thailand are advised to pay attention to identification and beware of being deceived.
Public information shows that the Royal 50R Group of Thailand is a diversified enterprise engaged in retail, new energy, tourism, real estate, and catering industries. Its subsidiary, Thai Luckin Coffee Co., Ltd., owns the Luckin brand trademark that is legally registered in Thai commercial halls. Currently, it has operated more than ten Luckin coffee shops in Thailand.
According to media reports on December 19th, the Royal 50R Group of Thailand stated in a document submitted to the court that it had legally registered the Luckin trademark with the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand in 2020, and everything was handled in accordance with Thai legal rules and procedures, and was allowed to use the trademark for marketing coffee shop business selling tea, coffee and other beverages. But later, China Luckin Coffee filed a lawsuit against the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court, accusing the 50R Group of maliciously registering a trademark. The lower court ruled against the defendant. But 50R Group believed that the verdict was unfair, submitted a rebuttal to the court, and won the lawsuit on December 1st of this year.
The indictment of the Royal 50R Group in Thailand also states that China Luckin had repeatedly forced the plaintiff to stop using the trademark before the court made a final judgment, and had repeatedly seized the other party's property, causing serious economic losses. 50R Group also spent a significant amount of money in the lawsuit, requesting the court to award a total compensation of 10 billion Thai baht to China Luckin Coffee.
Luckin Coffee's defeat happened at a critical moment when it entered overseas markets.
In July 2019, Luckin Coffee announced an alliance with the Kuwaiti company The Americana Group to officially enter the Middle East and Indian markets through its coffee retail business. But in April 2020, Luckin Coffee was exposed; Quota; Financial fraud; Quota; Scandal and delisting from NASDAQ in June of that year, its internationalization plan was also put on hold. The Royal 50R Group of Thailand also legally registered the Luckin trademark with the Thai Ministry of Commerce in 2020.
Previously, regarding the loss of Luckin Coffee in the lawsuit, a trademark agency industry insider pointed out that currently, in Southeast Asian markets such as Thailand, due to the low cost of trademark registration, trademark registration is rampant. The probability of Luckin Coffee winning such trademark infringement cases is very low because they do not have trademark rights in Thailand. It is also difficult to apply to the local trademark department in Thailand through administrative procedures to determine the invalidity of the other party's trademark, as evidence of the international reputation of brands like Luckin Coffee in overseas markets such as Thailand is difficult to obtain recognition from local relevant departments.
The above-mentioned trademark agency industry insiders also stated that Luckin Coffee's defeat in Thailand may affect its subsequent store opening in Thailand& Amp; Quota; Either buy the other party's trademark or acquire the other party's company, otherwise it will be difficult to open a store in Thailand, as the other party has already used a similar logo and registered the name Luckin Coffee& Amp; Quota;
It is worth mentioning that on December 8th, Kudi Coffee, created by the founders of Luckin Coffee, Lu Zhengyao and Qian Zhiya, has opened its first store in Thailand in recent years, engaging in close combat with Luckin Coffee in China. In August this year, Kudi Coffee announced its global expansion strategy, expanding into countries such as South Korea, Indonesia, Canada, and Japan, accelerating its overseas expansion. According to multiple media reports, on December 20th, Lu Zhengyao announced on his Moments that the first store of Kudi Coffee in the Philippines will open.
Or missing important sites for going out to sea
This trademark lawsuit has also cast more unknown factors over Luckin Coffee's future layout in Thailand.
At present, the number of Luckin Coffee stores has exceeded 13000, and it is expected to exceed 15000 by the end of this year. But its overseas development is not fast. On March 31st this year, Luckin Coffee opened its first overseas store in Singapore. According to the financial report, Luckin Coffee added 11 new stores in Singapore in the third quarter of this year, and currently has 18 stores in Singapore. By replicating the money burning subsidy method used during the early expansion in China, in Singapore, the lowest price for new users of Luckin Coffee products reached 0.99 Singapore dollars (equivalent to about 5 yuan) per cup, which also sparked a queuing frenzy in the local area.
Guo Jinyi, Chairman and CEO of Luckin Coffee, stated that the establishment of its Singapore store is the first step for Luckin Coffee to expand overseas, and he hopes to deeply cultivate the Singapore market in the long term. After the release of the third quarter financial report this year, Guo Jinyi proposed to sell Luckin Coffee to; Quota; A world-class century old coffee brand; Quota; The proposition.
According to the Southeast Asian Coffee Market report released by Moteng Venture Capital in November, the size of the Southeast Asian chain coffee market reached 3.4 billion US dollars in 2023. Among them, Singapore has the highest per capita consumption, while Indonesia and Thailand are the largest markets, with Thailand accounting for approximately 807 million US dollars. Therefore, Southeast Asian countries are also the first stop for some domestic coffee brands to go global.
It is not uncommon for Chinese brands to face trademark disputes overseas.
According to multiple media outlets such as China Youth Daily, in 2018, a student studying in South Korea from Changsha registered the trademark of Chayan Yuese in South Korea and opened a store. Cha Yan Yue Se had no choice but to express that she was aware of this, but the other party's behavior was legal and she had no right to interfere.
In early December, some netizens posted on social media about the newly opened& store in London; Quota; Master Bao; Quota; Store photos. The picture shows that the storefront, logo, and staff clothing of London's Mr. Bao are highly similar to those of Mr. Bao's stores in the Chinese market; And its official website is basically the same as the genuine Baoshifu official website in terms of appearance and brand introduction on the homepage.
But on December 10th, Master Bao pastry released a statement stating that; Quota; Currently, Mr. Bao only operates direct operated stores in China, without opening or preparing any stores overseas, and has not authorized any third party to represent Mr. Bao in overseas operations& Amp; Quota; According to the Shenzhen Business Daily, Bao Shifu responded that he had already registered the Bao Shifu trademark overseas. The knockoff version of London, UK; Quota; Master Bao; Quota; The evidence of infringement is very clear.
&Amp; Quota; Trademark disputes are a major issue faced by catering brands, especially beverage brands, when going global. In addition to trademarks, tea exports may also encounter supply chain issues, such as some companies using tea that may only be available domestically; And compliance with local laws and regulations, as well as respect for local cultural customs& Amp; Quota; Zuo Yongjun, co-founder of Banbaodian, analyzed to a reporter from Time Weekly.
&Amp; Quota; Therefore, in order to go global more smoothly, some brands may choose to find local agents (franchisees) and utilize the resources of local people, which can minimize some trouble as much as possible& Amp; Quota; Zuo Yongjun further stated.