How Will the China Coffee Industry React to Multi-Store Teams?

Starting in January 2025, Starbucks China will test a multi-store community model in which one store manager oversees two stores at once. The company also plans a new SM-2 senior store manager role and changes to job structure and training, aiming to handle a network of more than 7,600 shops and intense competition.

The move follows the Voyage Project announced at a closed-door regional manager summit in November 2024, focused on renewing the Starbucks experience, partner development, and brand equity. Stores are paired only after review, such as when nearby locations have different peak hours. The news has drawn comparisons to McDonald's and KFC, while some customers question whether service quality in the china coffee industry will hold.

Starbucks China plans to implement a new operating model starting in January 2025, with some stores shifting from "going it alone" to "teaming up," introducing for the first time a "multi-store community" model in which one store manager oversees two stores simultaneously. At the same time, Starbucks will also establish a new position called "SM-2 Senior Store Manager," adjusting its job structure and training system to cope with its increasingly large store network and fierce competition. This change has sparked heated discussion among netizens, with some noting that brands like McDonald's and KFC have long set precedents, while others worry whether service quality will be affected.

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Today, according to Xiaoshidai, starting next January, Starbucks, which operates more than 7,600 coffee shops in the Chinese market, will launch a new operating model.

Xiaoshidai revealed that at Starbucks China's closed-door regional manager summit held in November this year, the company proposed for the first time that in 2025 it will focus on "renewing the Starbucks experience, focusing on partner development, and strengthening brand equity."

In a recent employee letter sent by Starbucks China, the specific related content was explained, including the mention that the "Voyage Project" will be officially launched starting in January 2025. This project will bring new changes to stores nationwide, changing some stores from the previous "going it alone" model to "teaming up."

Starbucks China's vice president of operations said in the letter, "We will adapt to local conditions, gain a more detailed and in-depth understanding of stores in different regions, business districts, and customer groups, and form some stores into multi-store communities." As for the so-called "multi-store community," people familiar with the matter revealed that it refers to a "1+1" combination of two Starbucks stores. Under this model, it will be the first time that one Starbucks store manager simultaneously manages two stores.

However, the person said that the multi-store management model is not universally applicable, but rather Starbucks selects suitable stores for combination after comprehensive consideration. For example, if nearby stores have different peak hours, then after connecting them and having one store manager oversee them, staff from the two stores can be scheduled according to actual conditions, allowing for better store operations.

In the view of industry insiders, this measure may enable Starbucks China to manage its increasingly large store network more efficiently and better respond to a fiercely competitive environment.

In addition to the new "multi-store community" operating model, Starbucks is also adjusting its job setup and launching a brand-new title, "SM-2 (Senior Store Manager)."

People familiar with the matter revealed that the senior store manager sits between the single-store manager and the district manager, mainly targeting multi-store communities in the new operating model as well as more complex specialty stores under management. It will help reduce the gap and difficulty for Starbucks employees moving directly from single-store manager to district manager, and can also reflect the changes in the scope of responsibilities and capability requirements for store managers after "multi-store management."

Of course, "more pay for more work." Compared with single-store managers, the newly created senior store manager will receive more generous compensation, and Starbucks will also provide targeted training to help employees adapt quickly. In addition, the letter also stated that Starbucks will increase demand for shift supervisor positions, comprehensively upgrade its training system, and continuously empower employees through digitalization, among other things, to improve the overall quality of employees and enable efficient store operations.

In response, onlooking netizens have said that Starbucks' new operating model has long had precedents in China, and restaurant brands such as McDonald's and KFC are currently implementing this "shared store manager" model. "KFC is far ahead, already at three stores, and not just the store manager—the management team also covers three stores." "McDonald's has one person managing four stores." In addition, Starbucks employees revealed that before the employee letter was issued, some stores in Beijing had already implemented this operating model.

They said that for the brand, the "shared store manager" operating model may reduce costs and increase efficiency and improve labor efficiency, but in their eyes, this change may indicate that Starbucks' current performance is not as good as before, and it also raises concerns about whether the implementation of this measure will have a negative impact on the service quality of offline stores.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.