CITIC Securities: Actively Paying Attention to Overseas Market's Potential Growth in Ready-to-Drink Beverage Brands

According to the research report of CITIC Securities, the beverage industry in August was affected by the tapering of subsidies from third-party delivery platforms, and the expansion speed of national milk tea and coffee stores has slowed down compared to the previous month. In terms of opening new stores, there is a significant differentiation in the tea beverage industry, with brands like Guming and Bawang Tea Princess leading in the number of new stores opened, while the opening speed of Heytea has slowed down significantly. The penetration rate of coffee continues to rise, with brands like Luckin, COFFEEDD, and Luckin Coffee opening new stores quickly, while Starbucks stores are maintaining a slow growth trend. In terms of store efficiency, the growth rate of store efficiency for top brands has generally slowed down, with the store efficiency growth rate of brands in the 10-20 yuan mid-range price range falling within the range of 10% to 20% year-on-year, but there is still some differentiation within the industry. In terms of investment strategy, some investors are concerned about the performance of the industry next year under the high base, CITIC Securities believes that top brands with product innovation and offline traffic driving capabilities are expected to cross the cycle, while also actively focusing on brands that may grow in overseas markets.