One,Two,Three. Cheers! A toast with coffee and a lion dance, a mixture of cultures, US coffee giant Starbucks thinks will be right blend for its business in China.

"I believe strongly that China is going to be the second largest market in the world for Starbucks. And we are just getting started."

"Hello, welcome to Starbucks." Starbucks has already been in China for over a decade. But with financial troubles brewing back home, Starbucks chief Howard Schultz has come here, rallying employees and sprucing up stores, hoping to dominate the steaming Chinese market. "We've got 900 stores in the UK, 800 stores in Japan. China clearly is gonna have thousands of stores." "But this is a tea drinking culture." "Well, it is. And 10 years ago, people said when Starbucks arrives in China, they are not gonna succeed because everyone drinks tea. That's not exactly what's taking place. What's happened is we’ve opened up Starbucks in China. The Chinese customer has embraced Starbucks, is drinking tons of coffee. But also we are offering tea."

Tea and other local treats have helped boost sales here.

"So now I taste the pineapple bun, we call it" "John, pineapple bun." Schultz says it's important to understand the sensibility of Chinese consumers and try carefully in the still developing market. "Are you concerned it all that you could be expanding too fast here? Just given your experience in the US. " "Yes, well, I think over the last year and a half, we've transformed the US business. And it's come back, it's coming roaring back. Now I think we have an opportunity to take the learning and the discipline of the last year and a half and applying it into the international business."

Where Starbucks hopes to win over the lion's share of up and coming customers. "Thank you very much and here is to the next 10 years."


词汇整理
Blend: A mixture of different things that combine together well
Spruce up: to make yourself or something look neater and tidier

Local treat: local delicacies
Pineapple bun: A pineapple bun is a kind of sweet pastry popular in Hong Kong, Macau, some other ears in southern China

Learning and discipline: learn from the fault and unsuccessful experience

Lion’s share of up: the drastic rate of growing and increasing

上述材料可以思考的问题

Food for thought

1.    After giant franchises flooding into China, what do they bring to us?

2.    They have changed our cooking style, how is it related to health?

3.    They have impacts on the culture. We can see stories mentioning Starbucks many times.

4.    They enjoy a prosperous development in China. However, China has no giant food franchise at present. How can we build our own brand? How to compete with those brands?

5.    What can we learn from their practices and use it in our business?

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