Starbucks China pays tribute to partnerships

Partners are at the heart of Starbucks’ success in its largest growing market, Starbucks China CEO Belinda Wong told the coffee company’s annual meeting in Seattle.

“They are our core purpose of being and the reason why we are passionate about what we do,” she said more than 3000 shareholders and special guests. “Since our earliest days, we’ve been bringing to life Starbucks deeply rooted mission and values by investing in our partners.”

Wong presented a video about the critical illness insurance for parents of Starbucks China partners, announced last year. “I wish you could have seen the reception when we announced the Starbucks critical care insurance,” she said. “There were tears of joy and almost disbelief.”

Already, 93 percent of eligible partners have signed up and 14,000 parents have joined. “But we have higher ambitions – we want to inspire other companies,” said Wong, who has met with other companies in China to discuss the parental plan, leading to some now planning to launch similar programs.

“That commitment to family has built a phenomenal sense of pride, enthusiasm and commitment among our 45,000 partners,” said Wong.

Starbucks now has 3200 stores across 139 cities in China and is serving 6.4 million customers a week. There is now a goal of 5000 stores by 2021.

“We are opening a new store every 15 hours,” said Wong.

“It makes me even more excited how we can use the scale from growth to benefit the communities we serve,” she said, citing Starbucks’ $20 million commitment over the next five years to benefit social-impact programs in China.

“Also, with Yunnan coffee, grown in China and sold at Starbucks, we are bringing China’s coffee to the world stage.”
Starbucks’ Farmer Support Center has worked with 17,000 farmers in the Yunnan area on sustainable farming practices. “Starbucks has become the fabric of the local community,” she said. “We will continue to work with farmers to help change their lives.”

Wong also shared a video of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai, which opened in December. Three more are coming online soon, including one in Tokyo.