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Starbucks CEO said: China will become Starbucks' largest coffee market in the world.

Published: 2026-08-23 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/08/23, Starbucks is not only a cup of coffee, but also an attitude towards life. In its 17 years of entry into the Chinese market, Starbucks has exceeded 2000 stores in China for the first time. But Starbucks' ambitions do not stop there. The world's largest coffee chain plans to add thousands of stores in China, which is expected to reach 3400 in 2019. This means that Starbucks plans to spend four years in China

Starbucks is not only a cup of coffee, but also an attitude towards life.

In its 17 years of entry into the Chinese market, Starbucks has exceeded 2000 stores in China for the first time. But Starbucks' ambitions do not stop there. The world's largest coffee chain plans to add thousands of stores in China, which is expected to reach 3400 in 2019. This means that Starbucks plans to double its stores in China in four years.

"as Starbucks' fastest growing second largest market in the world, China represents our most important and exciting opportunity." Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO of Starbucks Coffee, said at a meeting of Starbucks' Chinese partners and families that China will become Starbucks' largest market in the world in the future.

Jack Ma, chairman of Alibaba, was also present for the Starbucks platform. Jack Ma said that Starbucks is not only a cup of coffee, but also an attitude towards life; Taobao is not only online shopping, but also a kind of life. "when I started my business, Starbucks was a myth." Ma Yun said: in China, a country that has no habit of drinking coffee, what on earth has happened to make the business of drinking coffee so big? It's worth learning.

In fact, the business partnership between Starbucks and Ali has already begun. Tmall's official flagship store has more than 300000 followers since it officially opened in December, according to figures released by Starbucks. On this platform, what is sold is not coffee beans, but "Starbucks special electronic heart products", such as electronic gift cards with a face value of 50 yuan or 100 yuan.

In order to continue to advance by leaps and bounds in the Chinese market, Schultz announced a series of welfare programs for Chinese partners on the same day, including a "housing subsidy program" that can cover 50% of the average rent expenditure in the cities where the partners are located. Schultz is very optimistic about the extremely high profit margins from the Chinese market. Starbucks' previous financial statements showed profit margins of 32 per cent in China and the Asia-Pacific region, 21.1 per cent in the Americas and 1.9 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Source: Beijing Morning Post

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