On 30 September 2022, Starbucks will open its 6,000th store in China which is also the 1,000th in Shanghai, the first city in the world to reach this milestone. The new store at Shanghai Lippo Plaza is where Starbucks opened its first store in Shanghai over 20 years ago.
Sporting a clean and streamlined design, the store is brought to life with minimalist-style furniture and casework made using recycled straw material. Upcycled green aprons that were previously worn by Starbucks partners (employees) create the store’s signature artwork – an iconic Starbucks siren with intricate design details that relay important milestones in Starbucks’ journey in China. Customers are also greeted by a mug wall made up of a collection of Starbucks signature city mugs launched over the years.
To celebrate the opening, a “Shanghai Coffee” in Crema Ristretto style will be the first city-themed handcrafted coffee creation in China as a tribute to the city and its coffee lovers. “Shanghai Coffee” in Crema Ristretto style is made with malt, cream and smoky Starbucks ristretto espresso, infused with butterscotch flavoured syrup offering layers of flavours and aromas.
As the official coffee industry partner for Shanghai’s city image promotion, and in partnership with IP SHANGHAI, Starbucks is launching the beverage on September 28 across all Starbucks stores in the city.
The new store features leading sustainability solutions and digitalised operations. Internet of Things sensors and automation tools in the back-of-house simplify routine stocktaking tasks so partners can focus on coffee craft and customer connection. Big data and machine learning algorithms have been deployed to optimise inventory ordering and labour scheduling. These technologies have been scaled to all stores in operation market-wide, as Starbucks continues to advance its digital transformation agenda.
The Shanghai Lippo Plaza Store is a Greener Store in China which incorporates sustainability solutions to achieve reductions in carbon, water and waste. The store uses smart, energy-efficient solutions for the airconditioning, lighting, water usage and daily energy consumption. The green aprons worn by store partners are made from recycled Starbucks cups using advanced plastic-to-textile technologies.
Starbucks continues to innovate and scale creative store concepts to serve customers and communities. Signing Stores provide employment opportunities for the deaf and hard of hearing partners. Heritage Culture Gallery Stores that bring heritage culture closer to Chinese consumers, and a co-working space concept store providing flexible, on-demand co-working spaces for mobile professionals.
Starbucks expects to operate 9,000 stores across 300 cities in China by 2025, opening a new store nearly every nine hours in China for the next three years. It will accelerate the rollout of Starbucks Greener Stores framework in China with a plan to operate 2,500 Greener Stores by FY 2025.
“As Starbucks celebrates our 6,000th store in China, we are deeply humbled to return where we opened our first store in Shanghai. It has been a privilege to share our love for coffee with local customers, and contribute to the development of China’s coffee culture and its specialty coffee industry over the past two decades. We treasure the strong connections we have built, and will never stop innovating new coffee products and experiences to delight our customers and earn their support every day.”
Leo Tsoi, Chief Executive Officer, Starbucks China
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