Starbucks China sales and transaction volume grows

Starbucks China sales growth out-paced the rest of Asia in the third quarter, up 6 per cent on a same-store basis and 2 per cent by transaction volume.

But the coffee giant appears to be getting the most traction from its home market, where sales grew 7 per cent in the 13 weeks to June 30, the average ticket price was up by 4 per cent and the number of transactions rose 3 per cent.

“Starbucks continues to be focused and disciplined in the execution of our three key strategic priorities that we established last year: accelerating growth in the US and China, expanding the global reach of the Starbucks brand through our Global Coffee Alliance with Nestle, and increasing shareholder returns,” said Kevin Johnson, president and CEO, referring to the Growth at Scale program.

The company opened 442 net new stores in the quarter, with nearly one third of those in China and 48 per cent in other international markets outside the US. It ended the period with 30,626 stores worldwide, 7 per cent more than a year earlier.

Johnson said Starbucks delivered strong operating performance demonstrating the success of the Growth at Scale agenda.

“Our two targeted long-term growth markets, the US and China, performed extremely well across a number of measures as a result of our focus on enhancing the customer experience, driving new beverage innovation and accelerating the expansion of our digital customer relationships. Given the strong momentum across our business, we are raising our full-year financial outlook.

“With our efforts to streamline the company and elevate the Starbucks brand, we are positioning the company to deliver predictable and sustainable operating results while building an enduring company that creates meaningful long-term value for Starbucks shareholders,” he concluded.

Global comparable store sales increased 6 per cent, driven by a 3 per cent increase in average ticket and a 3 per cent increase in comparable transactions.