Starbucks aims to double its China store count by 2022
Starbucks Corporation says that it aims to triple its revenue and double its store count in China over the next five years.
The Seattle-based firm is facing increasing pressure in the US from high-end coffee shops and cheaper rivals and so it has turned its attention to the lucrative Chinese market.
Today, Starbucks already dominates China’s coffee market, opening a new story in the country every 15 hours
The US coffee chain has over 600 stores in Shanghai, more than any city on earth, and it recently built its biggest ever coffee shop in the city.
Located on Nanjing Road West, Shanghai, the 30,000 sq ft store offers customers a high-end experience and includes a 'Reserve Roastery' whereby customers can watch beans being roasted.
Now, the firm says that it aims to almost double the number of coffee shops it has in the world’s second-largest economy.
Today Starbucks currently has around 3,300 stores in China and it aims to increase this to 6,000 by the end of 2022.
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This month, Nestle, the world’s largest food and beverage company, also announced that it was paying $7.15bn in cash for the rights to sell Starbucks' coffee and tea products directly to its customers.
Starbucks says that this alliance will also help it expand its footprint in China.
“Starbucks will look to leverage the recently announced global coffee alliance with Nestle to provide even more at-home options to the Chinese consumer in the future,” the company said.
Mark Schneider, chief executive of Nestlé, described the "global coffee alliance" with Starbucks as "a great day for coffee lovers around the world".
