Netizens complained that "when coffee is oil", netizens raised prices in more than 10 cities of Starbucks.

A few days ago, some media reported that Starbucks, a US coffee chain, recently raised its prices in 12 cities in China, involving five basic types of coffee, with a price increase of 2 yuan. The reporter learned yesterday that although the price increase did not involve the Guangzhou market, it was noticeable that the price increase was in the downward phase of the international coffee bean raw material market.

The price has been raised twice in the mainland this year.

Some consumers from other places have found that they have recently "made up the price difference" when they bought Starbucks. It is understood that the price increases in Tianjin, Dalian, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi'an and other 12 cities. The price adjustment began on November 6, including latte, vanilla latte, cappuccino, mocha and caramel macchiato, with a price increase of 2 yuan. In this regard, Starbucks contacts in China pointed out to our reporter that this price adjustment does not involve the Guangzhou market. It is reported that Starbucks has about 700 stores in the mainland.

As Starbucks products are already expensive in China, many netizens complained on Weibo yesterday about the price increase. Some netizens questioned whether the company "treats coffee as gasoline". According to others, the price of Starbucks coffee seen at airports in Thailand and Hong Kong, China, is cheaper than that of any Starbucks in the mainland. Some netizens even posted a "money-saving strategy" for Starbucks consumption, saying they took a cup to buy coffee to save 2 yuan.

In fact, this is the second time this year that the company has received news of a price increase in mainland China. This newspaper reported in January that Starbucks adjusted the prices of handmade coffee beverages (such as lattes, mochas and cappuccinos) at its stores in mainland China, citing "increased operating costs" by 1-2 yuan per cup.

Analysis.

The "strength" of price increase comes from insufficient competition.

Corresponding to the increase in coffee prices is the "moisture" of Starbucks' earnings report. The company's fourth-quarter profit beat expectations, with record net income of $13.3 billion in fiscal 2012 and a 52 per cent year-on-year increase in sales in China.

However, the price of raw materials is in the opposite direction. According to the International Coffee Organization, global production of arabica coffee beans will increase by 9.3% in 2012-2013, and its futures price has fallen 33% this year, while the trading price of another kind of robusta coffee beans, which is mainly produced in Asia and Africa, has also fallen 12% in London since the end of September.

In addition, in Yunnan, Starbucks' high-profile announcement of the world's first coffee growing base, according to an earlier report in the Farmer's Daily, although coffee bean production has increased, prices have fallen by 1 percent this year. Yesterday, a long-term research researcher of Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences on coffee cultivation told our reporter: "the current situation is still not much improved."

In fact, Starbucks executives told analysts on a conference call in the fourth quarter that commodity prices were expected to be good for the company in fiscal 2013, a factor estimated to contribute about $100 million to Starbucks. Yesterday, Huang Huajun, president of the first Business Network, analyzed to our reporter that Starbucks' price increase, which plays the brand of culture and taste in China, is due to insufficient competition from the coffee chain, and other coffee and catering brands do not pose a threat to it.

(responsible Editor: Leo)

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