While Other U.S. Companies Flee China, Starbucks Doubles Down
“The unlock was when we realized it had to be a combination of both U. S.
and Chinese leaders, and over time a totally dedicated Chinese leadership team led by a Chinese C. E.O.,” Mr. Schultz said.
The company was also forced to abandon its store in the Forbidden City — the former Chinese imperial palace, in Beijing
— after a sustained campaign to evict it by protesters who contended its presence was undermining Chinese culture.
Starbucks has found a way into the culture of China — as well as the good graces of the Chinese government — by investing heavily there, paying significantly higher wages than competitors,
and extending its employee ownership benefits to Chinese workers.
That’s where the company is planning to open a 30,000-square-foot coffee emporium in December, one
that Mr. Schultz believes “will have a larger consumer impact than the opening of Shanghai Disney.”
The story of Starbucks in China is a nearly 20-year journey that may be a case study for American companies that have struggled to do business there.
But as it turned out, he added, “it was a mistake.”
Mr. Schultz and his team realized that to gain the trust of Chinese customers, employees
and government officials, they needed to show that they trusted them, too.
Consider this mind-boggling statistic that I culled from the company’s statement last week about its Chinese ambitions:
Starbucks is opening more than 500 stores a year there — which amounts to more than one new store a day.