HONG KONG — Starbucks Corp. is pinning its future growth strategy on an aggressive expansion into China's lesser-known cities, according to chairman Howard Schultz.
"The number one priority of our company in terms of new growth is in China," Schultz said in the Asian Wall Street Journal.
Seattle-based Starbucks recently opened stores in the second-tier cities of Qingdao, Dalian and Chengdu, bringing its total number of stores in China to 209 from 152 at the end of 2004, according to Journal reports.
"China has emerged as the strategic priority within the company today and in the long term," Schultz said in a Financial Times report.
"The opportunity we have in China is like no other," he said, adding that China was the company's most important market outside of North America.
He declined to provide details of the coffee chain's sales targets or how many retail outlets it plans to open.
Starbucks has been actively purchasing its equity back from local partners. That equity was issued before 2004, but Beijing has since abolished rules prohibiting foreign companies from wholly owning stores.
About 120 Starbucks outlets are located in Beijing or around Shanghai. The coffee company has 400 stores in greater China, which includes Taiwan and Hong Kong.
