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Wednesday, July 2, 2003
Starbucks boosts its stake in 'greater China' market
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Starbucks Corp. said yesterday it had increased its stakes in its Taiwan and Shanghai joint ventures to 50 percent from 5 percent, indicating a deepening commitment to the greater China market.
The coffee retailer's Starbucks Coffee International Inc. unit paid Taiwan-based Uni-President Group $21.3 million to become an equal partner in their Shanghai joint venture.
Additional financial details weren't disclosed.
Uni-President Group's stakes in the ventures are held through its units, Uni-President Enterprises, Taiwan's largest food company, and President Chain Store Corp., which also runs 7-Eleven stores in Taiwan.
"Increasing equity positions in the Taiwan and Shanghai units is an extension of Starbucks Coffee's global development strategy," said Pedro Man, president of Starbucks Coffee Asia Pacific.
"We're optimistic about the long-term development in the greater China region," he added.
Seattle-based Starbucks is now attaching greater importance to the Taiwan and Shanghai markets, and "is providing more support in know-how," said Wang Wenhsin, public affairs manager at President Chain Store.
The two coffee-store joint ventures operate 109 outlets in Taiwan and 30 in the Shanghai area. The first stores opened in Taiwan in 1998, and in Shanghai in 2000.
Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz has said the company plans to increase the number of its stores in Taiwan and China by more than 10 percent this year.
Starbucks officials have said there is room for more than 25,000 outlets worldwide, of which more than 6,000 could be in Asia. According to the company's Web site, there are now 6,294 stores.
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