Starbucks Trying to Maintain Consumers in China, Plans to Set Up More Stores

Starbucks plans to set up more retail stores in China as part of expansion efforts while trying to keep the brand’s allure to Chinese consumers, Forbes reported.

Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, said in a press conference in April that the new store that will open at the Shanghai Disneyland could become Starbucks's highest grossing retail store.

"On June 16, we will open in China what will in all probability become the Starbucks highest grossing retail store in the world virtually overnight," Schultz said. "It is a stunning new Starbucks store at the main entrance of the new Shanghai Disneyland, a destination that may well become the no. 1 tourist attraction in Asia."

Since its introduction in China in 1999, Starbucks has been widely accepted by Chinese consumers. But now the company must keep the allure of the brand as it plans to expand in the country, the report said.

China is now Starbucks's largest market outside of the U.S., with more than 2,100 stores in more than 100 cities.

Schultz said in January that the company plans to open 500 stores a year in the country for the next five years. He also announced on Thursday, May 26, that the firm will open its first international Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room in Shanghai next year.

Starbucks's roastery in Shanghai will be become the largest Starbucks store in the world, occupying 30,000 square feet, which is double the size of its Seattle store.

Among Chinese cities, Shanghai has the greatest number of Starbucks store, with more than 300 locations for consumers.

With its resources, neither the economic slowdown nor other competitors can apparently derail Starbucks's growth and expansion in China.

"That's because in tough economic times, people deny themselves big-ticket items," Daniel Kline wrote on the Motley Fool site. "They give up vacations and stop buying jewelry, expensive clothes, and other non-necessities. Starbucks, however, sells affordable luxuries. Its coffee may be expensive compared to making it yourself, but it's a reasonable treat for someone struggling to make ends meet, putting off larger indulgences."