Nav: Home > Coffee News >

Sudden! Starbucks is considering selling shares in its China business!

Published: 2026-07-16 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/07/16, ▲ Click to pay attention| Daily boutique coffee culture magazine Coffee Factory Today, Bloomberg released an exclusive report. According to people familiar with the matter, Starbucks is considering trading options for its China business, including the possibility of selling equity and bringing in local partners. People familiar with the matter said the coffee chain has been working with Gu

▲

Click follow | Daily boutique coffee culture magazine coffee workshop

Today, Bloomberg released an exclusive report. Starbucks is considering trading options for its Chinese business, including the possibility of selling its stake and bringing in local partners, according to people familiar with the matter.

The coffee chain has been discussing with advisers how to expand its business in China, including the possibility of introducing a local partner, according to people familiar with the matter, and said Starbucks has informally assessed potential investor interest. these include domestic private equity firms, interested Chinese conglomerates or other local companies with experience in the industry. But Starbucks is still evaluating its options and has not yet made a decision on whether to move forward.

Bloomberg previously reported that Starbucks is under pressure from Elliott Investment Management, which wants Starbucks to promise to review its business in China. China is Starbucks' second-largest market after the United States, generating about $3 billion in net revenue in the most recent year. As of the end of September, Starbucks operated more than 7500 stores in more than 250 cities in China, accounting for about 19% of the global total.

But. The rapid development of Chinese local chain brands such as Lucky has affected Starbucks' market position in China. It is reported that since the beginning of this year, Starbucks' sales in China are not optimistic. Same-store sales fell another 14% last quarter, the third consecutive quarter of decline.

For Starbucks China, the new CEO Nicole said at a meeting last month that he was trying to better understand the company's business in China, and pointed out that the competitive environment seemed to be "extreme" and the macro environment was "tough". Nicole said at the time that Starbucks needed to figure out how to expand the market and was continuing to explore strategic partnerships that would help its long-term development, but did not provide further details.

In response, a Starbucks spokesman said this week in response to an inquiry from Bloomberg, "We are fully committed to the company's business and partners as well as development in China, and we are trying to find the best growth path. This includes exploring strategic partnerships."

In August, the studio reported that Starbucks' predecessor, CEO Nathhan, had pointed out before leaving that Starbucks would explore a partnership in China, which was seen as a sign that the brand might be open to join. Although Nathhan was replaced shortly after the announcement of the news officer, the new CEO Nicole did not deny it at the fourth-quarter results meeting, but intended to continue the plan.

When Starbucks revealed that it would sell its stake in its Chinese business, the outside world would no doubt think of McDonald's and Yum. A few years ago, the two companies sold shares to private equity firms in order to expand their business in China and better cater to local consumers. The results of this approach are also obvious to all. The number of offline stores in McDonald's China and Yum China has doubled in just a few years, and the layout is still accelerating to achieve more growth.

From this point of view, Starbucks may be able to learn from the successful experience of McDonald's and Yum Restaurant and cooperate with interested domestic enterprises. However, in an earlier interview with CNBC, Nicole predicted that he planned to visit the Chinese market in the first or second week of December to better understand the business. This means that the consideration of Starbucks' China market business may not have a clearer message until the end of the CEO's trip to China.

Picture from: Internet

Disclaimer: some of the pictures in this article come from the network, and some of the contents of the website, such as pictures, we will respect the origin of the original copyright, but due to the large number, there will be individual pictures and texts not in time to indicate, please forgive me. If the original author has any disputes can contact the website to deal with, once verified we will immediately correct, by the "coffee workshop" collation and editing, reprint please indicate, if infringement, please inform deletion, thank you ~!

FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou China, selling freshly roasted beans from its own farm in Yunnan as well as dozens of carefully selected single-origin beans from around the world for both pour-over and espresso. The products deliver consistently excellent quality and great value, with shipping within 24 hours. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers, and the beans are now available online at the Tmall 。