This article only represents the author's own views.

For entrepreneur Lu Zhengyao, there was little time for crying over spilt coffee after being ousted from his baby, Luckin Coffee (LKNCY.US), following a major fabricated sales scandal in 2020. Lu quickly threw his energies into Cotti Coffee, a Luckin clone that is even more Luckin than the original. The new chain has been widely perceived as Lu's revenge and comeback attempt to show he’s still king of China’s coffee hill.

Now, Lu is also trying to take his show on a global expansion path that could provide some relief from the overheated China market. But such a path is hardly without perils, bringing the chain up against other global players like Starbucks (SBUX.US), even as Cotti’s innovative financing model could show signs of strain due to large numbers of store failures at home.