FT: Starbucks has seen "a lot of interest" in China business stake, CEO says

June 11, 2025 07:29 PM AEST | By Investing

Google News:

FT: Starbucks has seen — Image source: Kalkine Media

Recent News

GameStop bets on trading cards, stock continues slide

A Nationwide Celebration of Youth Sports at DICK’S House of Sport

AEG Presents College Connection Program Inspires Future Industry Leade...

How Yum! Brands Maximizes Franchise Operating Capability

Investing.com - Starbucks has received "a lot of interest" in the possible sale of a stake in its Chinese operations, the coffee chain’s CEO Brian Niccol told the Financial Times in an interview published on Wednesday.

The Seattle-based company has been pushing to reinvigorate sales in the country, its second-largest market behind the United States. Niccol said "people see the value of the Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) brand," adding that "they’d love to be partnering up with us in figuring out" how to grow the firm’s presence in China from 8,000 to 20,000 stores.

Shares in Starbucks were little changed in premarket U.S. trading on Wednesday.

Buyout groups KKR&Co (NYSE:KKR), PAG, and Foutainvest Partners have previously expressed some interest in buying a stake in Starbucks’ Chinese business, Reuters reported in February, adding that, in a franchisee deal, Starbucks China would be valued at more than $1 billion. However, the size of the stake sale had not been determined.

Earlier this week, Starbucks announced that it would slash the prices of some of its iced beverages in China by an average of 5 yuan, or roughly $0.70, in a bid to ward off intensifying competition. This means that some drinks would cost as low as 23 yuan, Starbucks said in a post on the social media platform Weixin.

More "accessible" pricing was made available on a range of items, including non-coffee drinks and Starbucks’ Frappuccino offering, from Tuesday.

Starbucks has been aiming to attract price-conscious customers in China wary of tepid economic activity and an uncertain labor market picture.

Along with the entry of massive internet giants like Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group and JD.com into China’s food delivery industry, the company also faces pressure from domestic rivals like Luckin Coffee (OTC:LKNCY) and Cotti offering cheap prices for their drinks. However, Starbucks has stressed that it will not participate in a price war.

The firm did not slash its prices in China as a response to price competition, but to entice more customers to visit in the afternoon, Reuters has reported, citing a person close to Starbucks.

(Reuters contributed reporting.)

This article first appeared in Investing.com

Disclaimer

The content, including but not limited to any articles, news, quotes, information, data, text, reports, ratings, opinions, images, photos, graphics, graphs, charts, animations and video (Content) is a service of Kalkine Media Pty Ltd (“Kalkine Media, we or us”), ACN 629 651 672 and is available for personal and non-commercial use only. The principal purpose of the Content is to educate and inform. The Content does not contain or imply any recommendation or opinion intended to influence your financial decisions and must not be relied upon by you as such. Some of the Content on this website may be sponsored/non-sponsored, as applicable, but is NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold the stocks of the company(s) or engage in any investment activity under discussion. Kalkine Media is neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice through this platform. Users should make their own enquiries about any investments and Kalkine Media strongly suggests the users to seek advice from a financial adviser, stockbroker or other professional (including taxation and legal advice), as necessary.
The content published on Kalkine Media also includes feeds sourced from third-party providers. Kalkine does not assert any ownership rights over the content provided by these third-party sources. The inclusion of such feeds on the Website is for informational purposes only. Kalkine does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the content obtained from third-party feeds. Furthermore, Kalkine Media shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in the content obtained from third-party feeds, nor for any damages or losses arising from the use of such content.
Kalkine Media hereby disclaims any and all the liabilities to any user for any direct, indirect, implied, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising from any use of the Content on this website, which is provided without warranties. The views expressed in the Content by the guests, if any, are their own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Kalkine Media. Some of the images/music that may be used on this website are copyrighted to their respective owner(s). Kalkine Media does not claim ownership of any of the pictures displayed/music used on this website unless stated otherwise. The images/music that may be used on this website are taken from various sources on the internet, including paid subscriptions or are believed to be in public domain. We have made reasonable efforts to accredit the source wherever it was indicated as or found to be necessary.
This disclaimer is subject to change without notice. Users are advised to review this disclaimer periodically for any updates or modifications.