News

Starbucks doubling Asia Pacific staff

February 19, 2013

Starbucks Corp. plans to have about 40,000 employees in the Asia Pacific region five years from now, which would double its workforce in the area, according to MarketWatch. Jinlong Wang, the company's Asia Pacific president, said in the story that the region "has been a growth engine and will continue to be a growth engine despite economic uncertainty."

Although tea has been the beverage of choice for generations in many parts of Asia, coffee consumption is on the rise. Last year, consumers spent $9.3 billion at coffee shops in the Asia Pacific region, a 66-percent increase from five years before. Starbucks entered the Indian market in October and opened its first location earlier this month in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with expectations to launch hundreds more in the country.

Asia Pacific is the chain's fastest-growing area, according to MarketWatch, which said that in Q4, Starbucks posted revenue of $214.1 million in China and Asia Pacific combined. That's a 28-percent increase from last year's Q4.

Starbucks employs 19,500 people in the region.

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