Internet coffee faces new test

  Compared with Rui Xing, who quickly "run the horse enclosure" with the capital heat wave, Lian Coffee has always adhered to the development idea of ​​"trotting and walking slowly". But the same coffee chain brands under the Internet model, the two ultimately ended in the same direction: Ruixing Coffee ushered in a crisis of survival due to financial fraud, even coffee has recently been exposed to large-scale closure of stores.

  Dianping search shows that at present, even 16 stores in Beijing are closed and only two are in operation; 22 stores in Shanghai are temporarily closed; only 12 stores in Shenzhen are still open; and among the 10 stores in Guangzhou, only One store is still open. Unlike Rui Xing's fraudulent suicide, even the loss of coffee may be a reflection and consolidation. The large number of closed stores does not mean that it is about to die.

  On June 29, Ruixing Coffee was suspended from trading on NASDAQ and was delisted for the record. At the same time, the official statement "Ruixing Coffee will operate more than 5,000 stores nationwide, and nearly 30,000 employees will continue to provide users with quality products and services as always."

  At present, what is the status of Ruixing Coffee offline? Is it operating normally? What is the order volume? Do consumers still go? With these questions, a reporter from Workers Daily went to several stores in the main city of Chongqing to visit.

  Drink the last cup of cheap coffee?

  On the morning of July 4th, the reporter contacted the staff of Chongqing Shandao Group, which is known as "the strategic supplier of human resources services for Ruixing Coffee Chongqing Branch". The staff member said that "Chongqing stores are still hiring", and a picture released in June showed that 95 stores of Ruixing Coffee Chongqing have been resumed.

  At 10 o'clock that day, Xiao Li, who was working near Ruixin Coffee Dongyuan Xinxin Park, came to take the order. He told reporters that he is an old customer, because the price is cheap, he basically buys a cup every day, at least a few yuan, at most it is about ten yuan a cup. After seeing the news that Ruixing admitted that the counterfeit stock price collapsed, he was worried about the company's collapse, so he used all the available coupons and ordered 7 cups of coffee at once.

  At about 2:30 in the afternoon, at the Ruixing High-tech Mercury Store, the operator was so busy that there were customers and three take-away brothers waiting in front of the counter. "A half-and-a-half order has been queued for an hour, and it has only been queued up until now. It used to take only 10 minutes." A take-out brother spit out. The operator said: "This is due to an abnormality in the system, and it will be better tomorrow." "The order I received today has doubled than usual." Another courier said.

  The reporter inquired about the contact information of Ruixing Coffee (Chongqing) Co., Ltd. During the telephone consultation, the staff said, "the store operation has no effect temporarily." The reporter reported that "the system crashed and the order could not be placed." The reporter learned through an enterprise search that Ruixing Coffee has 187 stores in Chongqing.

  Subsequently, the reporter continuously explored many stores in Jiangbei District and Yubei District, the situation is similar.

  Known to beat Starbucks, now admits financial fraud

  Public information shows that in 2018, Ruixing Coffee landed strongly on the coffee market, under the banner of competing with Starbucks.

  Matching the speed of opening the store is the financing speed of Ruixing Coffee. In June and December 2018, Ruixing Coffee received a total of US$400 million in financing twice in only one year. In April and May 2019, they received another US$850 million in financing. Through price subsidies + quick shop openings, Ruixing Coffee has been able to quickly open up the situation in the domestic coffee retail market, and has repeatedly stated that it will subvert the international coffee retail giant Starbucks. However, this model has also been questioned by some insiders because of the money-burning enclosure.

  In fact, as early as February 1 this year, Ruixing Coffee, which had been listed for less than 10 months, received a company short report issued by the internationally renowned organization Muddy Water. In this regard, Ruixing Coffee resolutely denied it.

  Two months later, on the evening of April 2nd, Ruixing Coffee suddenly issued an announcement admitting that the fraudulent transaction was 2.2 billion yuan. Affected by this news, Ruixing Coffee's stock price plunged nearly 85% before the market. Within 20 minutes after opening, three trips were triggered, and trading was suspended six times during the session.

  Chen Yuanjia, director of the Financial Affairs Department of Chongqing Zhongyao Law Firm, said that if there is an investor who invests in US stock Ruixing Coffee, it should submit a class action application to the Southern District Court of New York as soon as possible to define the amount of the claim in accordance with local laws and regulations.

  Where does Rui Xing ride on the "roller coaster" go?

  In terms of market value, Ruixing Coffee has exceeded US$11 billion from its peak, and now it is US$347 million, as if it were a roller coaster ride.

  After delisting, for Ruixing Coffee, the trouble is far from over. Mo Yuanming, a researcher at the Upper Yangtze River Economic Research Center of Chongqing Technology and Business University, pointed out that referring to the highest and lowest stock prices and total share capital of Ruixing Coffee, it can be roughly calculated that Ruixing Coffee will face a total compensation of about 11.2 billion US dollars. This means that its future development will depend to a certain extent on the situation of huge claims. In addition, Ruixing Coffee also faces huge fines from domestic and foreign regulators.

  Niu Yang, general manager of Yongchuan Business Department of Chongqing Hualong Securities, told reporters: "After Ruixing Coffee delisted, considering the compensation issue, it will have a certain impact on the follow-up operation. As for whether it will go bankrupt, there are many factors involved, and it is not possible to go down now. in conclusion."

  The reporter noticed that since Ruixing Coffee broke financial fraud, stores across the country have been operating normally, but "self-help" measures such as reduced preferential strength, layoffs, and closure and transfer of stores have been adopted to reduce costs. Up to now, Ruixing Coffee still has more than 4,000 stores in China, and is still constantly launching new products and opening new stores.

  According to Zhu Danpeng, an analyst of China's food industry, Ruixing Coffee's delisting mainly affects the capital side, and the impact on the business side is not large. "Thousands of stores of Ruixing Coffee have formed a certain brand influence and fan effect. Especially affected by the epidemic, the cost-effective route will be more favored. As long as Ruixing Coffee maintains the stability of the operation side and solves the problem of capital-side claims, There is a possibility of sustainable development in the future."

  Zhu Danpeng said that for investors, if Ruixing Coffee immediately went bankrupt, it would inevitably be insolvent and a loss to them. Therefore, from the perspective of market rationality, you may reach a more complete solution later.

  Li Guo