How does Starbucks success in China reach 6,000 stores?
Starbucks China announced on September 27 that its store count in mainland China has passed 6,000, with the milestone store at Lippo Plaza on Huaihai Road in Shanghai. Shanghai is now the first city anywhere with more than 1,000 Starbucks stores. The store is certified as a green store, and the company marked the opening with a city-exclusive beverage called Shanghai Coffee.
Shanghai Coffee, launched with IP SHANGHAI, went on sale across the city from September 28 and layers malted milk, buttery caramel Scotch whipped milk foam and espresso. Starbucks also set out a 2025 China strategic vision: adding about 3,000 stores over three years for a total of 9,000, while facing competition from Luckin, Manner and a wider trend of price downgrading.
Starbucks China's store count has surpassed 6,000, with Shanghai becoming the world's first city to reach 1,000 Starbucks stores. The 6,000th store is located at Lippo Plaza on Huaihai Road in Shanghai, positioned as a green store, and has partnered with IP SHANGHAI to launch a city-exclusive beverage called "Shanghai Coffee." Meanwhile, Starbucks announced its "2025 China Strategic Vision," planning to add 3,000 stores over three years, bringing the total to 9,000. In the face of competition from brands like Luckin and Manner and the trend of price downgrading, whether Starbucks can hold its market position is worth watching.
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On September 27, Starbucks China announced via Weibo that Lippo Plaza on Huaihai Road in Shanghai welcomed its 1,000th store, which is also the 6,000th store in mainland China. After this store opened, Shanghai's Starbucks store scale continues to lead among global cities, becoming the first city where the number of Starbucks stores exceeds 1,000.
This milestone store, as the 6,000th Starbucks in mainland China, has been certified as a green store, reflecting Starbucks' in-depth thinking and exploration of the future third place, and fully implementing leading solutions for sustainable retail and digital operations.
At the unveiling of the 6,000th store, Starbucks partnered with IP SHANGHAI to launch its first city-themed limited-edition beverage, "Shanghai Coffee," which went on sale across the city starting September 28. It is understood that "Shanghai Coffee" was inspired by Shanghai's inclusive Haipai culture, blending into a unique taste that belongs to Shanghai.
The first sip reveals a thick layer of the first-generation "trendy" malted milk that once swept Shanghai, slowly melting in the mouth. The second sip brings buttery aroma and toasted caramel-flavored Scotch whipped milk foam gliding over the tongue. The third sip, savored carefully, shows how the espresso injects this cup of Shanghai Coffee with its distinctive flavor and soul.
It is understood that the store's design concept is "returning to the original aspiration, facing the future," with a light and lively style that lets customers feel a refreshed yet familiar and warm spatial atmosphere. Walking into the store, the artwork using recycled green aprons as a canvas is the most eye-catching, with Starbucks' iconic mermaid's twin tails stretched gracefully and beautifully.
As you approach and explore, rich stories and details are revealed one by one, tracing the bits of beauty along Starbucks' journey. The store also features a giant "cup wall," which, under the designer's ingenious arrangement, resembles a mini city cup museum. Each city cup carries abundant memories, as if recording the footprints Starbucks has left along the way.
Over the past decade, the number of Starbucks stores in mainland China has grown nearly tenfold, and the Chinese market has also become its second-largest market after the United States. According to the 2022 Shanghai Coffee Culture Week report, Shanghai already has nearly 8,000 coffee shops, ranking first among global cities in total, of which Starbucks stores account for 1,000.
At the same time, market monitoring data shows that about 20 well-known overseas coffee brands, including Canada's Tim Hortons, Italy's LAVAZZA Coffee, and the American "Peet's" Coffee and Blue Bottle Coffee, are also competing to make Shanghai their first choice for landing. Starbucks China's first store was located in Shanghai, and now Starbucks China, full of its original aspiration, has returned to the place in Shanghai where it first set out.
At an earlier global investor meeting, Starbucks proposed its "2025 China Strategic Vision": over the next three years, Starbucks will add 3,000 stores at a pace of opening one every nine hours, covering 300 Chinese cities.
By 2025, Starbucks China's total store count will reach 9,000, its workforce will increase by 35,000 to more than 95,000, and it will achieve the growth targets of doubling net revenue and quadrupling operating profit from the current level. This is a goal that shocks many people: 3,000 stores in three years can be described as quite "aggressive."
You should know that today's coffee market competition is extremely fierce. At present, the coffee market appears to have been divided into three tiers. The first tier is represented by well-known chain coffee brands such as Starbucks, Luckin, and Manner, the "national team" that broadly lays out stores nationwide; the second tier consists of the above-mentioned regional chain brands forming the "local teams"; and there is also a group of "individual players" scattered across streets and alleys, fighting alone.
Luckin, also in the first tier, has long reached 7,000+ stores and has already overtaken Starbucks. According to the Starbucks menu, there are currently 84 beverages on sale, including coffee-infused ice cream, among which only 9 are priced below 30 yuan, while 75 products are over 30 yuan, accounting for 89%.
By contrast, other brands are much more affordable in terms of price. Luckin is mainly concentrated in the 20-yuan price band, and Manner averages around 20 yuan a cup. The second and third tiers are roughly the same, and most coffee launched by tea beverage brands also does not exceed 20 yuan.
As the market sinks downward, the tea beverage industry, which is similar to coffee, has also seen previously high-end-focused brands such as Nayuki and Heytea target the sub-20-yuan mass market in the first half of this year, successively lowering prices for their products and saying they will no longer launch new drinks starting with the number 3.
Starbucks China said it hopes to meet consumers' coffee needs in various life scenarios as much as possible over the next three years. "By 2025, the current 2,500 'Starbucks Coffee Services' points covering offices, hotels, and other locations will double to 5,000.
"Along the way, Starbucks has cherished the close connections established with every customer, and will continue to continuously innovate and upgrade products and experiences to meet and exceed customer expectations and win more customer support every day," said Leo Tsoi, CEO of Starbucks China.
Image source: Internet
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
