On my latest trip to New York, something struck me more than anything else.

The idea I’ve been exploring for the last decade – the simple premise that successful retail is about providing fast or slow experiences, and avoiding the middle-ground – was more evident than ever.

And I saw two new spaces that were the perfect examples.

Firstly, I stumbled upon Luckin Coffee, a Chinese business trying to muscle in on Starbucks’ market share with a straightforward strategy – speed.

This is pretty remarkable given that coffee in New York is already very, very fast – and Starbucks have just started trying to slow down their offer a little.

Secondly, I stumbled upon 113 Spring, one of the slowest retail experiences I’ve ever seen.

Fast and furious

I’ll caveat immediately that I detest Luckin Coffee.

The coffee is terrible, and the obsession with speed means the entire thing felt even more soulless than the worst Starbucks or Costa – quite an achievement.

But, dear reader, I do not represent the entire US population, and there’s a role for this no-frills concept. 

Americans readily pre-order Starbucks coffees as they land on planes to pick up in the airport. Americans will buy anything they can in a drive-thru format. Americans love speed – and who am I to judge? A pretentious European ought to keep his nose out.

Luckin Coffee already has several spaces in New York, and they were busy. They turned customers over rapidly with simple choices and low prices.

It would not be surprising at all if it scaled rapidly.

But not everything in New York is speeding up.

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