New Java Joint

Starbucks Coffee Intl., a wholly owned subsidiary of Starbucks Coffee Co. (Seattle), made its first step into southern China by opening a store in Shenzhen. The store is operated by Coffee Concepts (Shenzhen), a joint venture between Maxim's Caterers Ltd. (Hong Kong) and Starbucks Coffee Intl.

The 1500-square-foot store serves a range of espresso drinks, including Starbucks originals, as well as blended beverages and fresh foods.

“Our expansion into southern China presents a tremendous growth opportunity for Starbucks,” says Michael Wu, managing director of Maxim's Caterers Ltd. “Since the introduction of the Starbucks brand in Hong Kong in 2000, we have already established a network of 32 Starbucks stores. We are very optimistic about expanding our success into southern China.”

Starbucks entered the Asian market in 1996 by opening a store in Japan. Today, Starbucks operates 850 locations in 14 markets across Asia Pacific. Worldwide, Starbucks has more than 5800 retail locations in North America, Latin, America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim.