KUNMING – Starbucks will continue its expansion in the Chinese mainland market, planning to have 1,500 cafes in operation by 2015, said an official from the company.
Wang Jinlong, chairman of the board of Starbucks Greater China, revealed the plan Wednesday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Starbucks cafe in Kunming, capital city of southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
Kunming is the 39th city on the Chinese mainland to have a Starbucks branch. Wang said Starbucks has high expectations for the booming Chinese market, as it is the company’s largest market outside of the US.
Starbucks opened its first branch on the Chinese mainland in Beijing in 1999. There are now 450 Starbucks cafes on the Chinese mainland.
Categories: China, Economics, United States