China will become Starbucks' largest overseas market

By the end of this year, China will become Starbucks' largest overseas market in the world besides the United States. He also revealed that according to Starbucks' plan, Starbucks will have more than 1500 stores in China by 2015.

It is understood that since Starbucks opened its first store in Beijing in 1999, China has become the most important international market. Figures show that Starbucks opened more than 300 new stores in China in fiscal year 2013. Wang Jinlong, chairman of Starbucks China, told NetEase that Starbucks has a clear goal of opening stores in China every year. "at the current rate of opening, there is no pressure for Starbucks to complete its 1500 stores in 2015".

In addition, he also revealed that all of the 300 stores he opened in China last year were owned by Starbucks. The new stores are still the main driver of Starbucks' current performance growth in China. In terms of store distribution, the four first-tier cities in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are still key areas for Starbucks' development. Data show that of Starbucks' 1200 stores in China, there are about 260Starbucks in Shanghai and more than 150Starbucks in Beijing.

It is reported that in recent years, the Chinese market has become a "beach" position for a number of foreign coffee chains, and a number of foreign coffee chains have announced their entry into China in recent years. According to incomplete statistics, British coffee brand Costa, Italian coffee brand LAVAZZA, Malaysian coffee brand Old Street White Coffee, Singapore Coffee Group Super Coffeemix, Korean coffee brand coffee accompany you, Zoo Coffee have announced their entry into China within a few years. According to data from the International Coffee Industry Association and the China International Trade Center, China's coffee consumption is growing at an annual rate of about 15%, while world coffee consumption is growing at an annual rate of only 2%. Since 1998, China's per capita coffee consumption has increased at a rate of 30% year by year, and the number of coffee shops in large and medium-sized cities has expanded steadily at an annual rate of 25%.

With regard to the rapid development of Internet technology, Howard Schultz pointed out that with the influence of mobile terminals such as smartphones, great changes have taken place in consumer behavior. Starbucks is also decisively "embracing" Internet technology. "in the United States, consumers have entered the stage of cashless payment for Starbucks coffee, and they can pay with their mobile phones." It is reported that in 2012, Starbucks invested $25 million in the mobile payment company Square. Under the partnership agreement, Square provides credit and debit card transaction processing services for Starbucks stores in the United States, so that American consumers can pay for Starbucks through the Square payment app without paying cash. Howard Schultz, although the technology can not be applied to Chinese stores, "but I believe that the popularity of digital technology is a global trend, and China is no exception."

For the second quarter ended March 31, Starbucks reported a 9 per cent increase in sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2014 to $3.9 billion, with a net profit of $427 million. To get the best results in history. Starbucks expects sales to grow by 10% this fiscal year, with 1500 new stores worldwide.