News

Starbucks donates $3M to Chinese leadership program

June 6, 2014

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz this week reaffirmed the brand’s commitment to China by announcing Starbucks Foundation’s $3 million investment throughout the next three years for educational and leadership programs. The donation includes $1.5 million to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, whose mission is to promote friendly international relations and safeguard domestic welfare.

“As Starbucks China has grown to now more than 1,200 stores in over 68 cities, and 20,000 partners, so too has our foundational aspiration to build a different kind of company in China; one committed to performance that is driven through the lens of humanity and locally relevant innovation,” Schultz said in a news release. “Today, we are proud to honor and renew the Starbucks Foundation’s ongoing partnership with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation to enrich the lives of Chinese youth and be a positive force in building their future success.”

The investment from the Starbucks Foundation will help develop locally-relevant education and mentorship programs for university students to build leadership skills in communities across China, the release said.

On track to operate 1,500 Stores by 2015

The China market has been key to Starbucks international expansion efforts since the opening of its first store in Beijing in 1999. In fiscal 2013, Starbucks opened more than 300 stores. Today, Starbucks operates more than 1,200 stores across 68 cities, and China is on track to become the company’s largest market outside of the U.S. by the end of 2014.

Starbucks expects to reach 1,500 stores in China by 2015, the company said.