SOURCE / ECONOMY
Starbucks sales in China down 19% in fiscal Q3 but leading global performance
Published: Jul 29, 2020 10:43 AM

A Starbucks store in Beijing's Joy City shopping mall on Tuesday. Photo: Zhang Hongpei/GT


The Chinese market performed best for US coffee chain Starbucks in the third fiscal quarter ended June 28, as branches in China reopened relatively early following the coronavirus outbreak. 

According to a financial statement published by Starbucks on Tuesday, the company's sales in China were down 19 percent in the third fiscal quarter (Q3) compared with the same period last year, better than a 41 percent drop in US sales and a 40 percent drop in global sales. 

By the end of Q3, Starbucks had opened 4,447 stores in China and 15,243 stores in the US, together accounting for 61 percent of the company's global portfolio, the statement read. 

Starbucks earned $4.2 billion in revenue in Q3, down from $6.8 billion last year. Losses amounted to $678 million in Q3, exceeding market expectations but showing business had retreated significantly from a $1.37 billion profit in the same period last year. 

Kevin Johnson, president and CEO of Starbucks, said that the vast majority of Starbucks stores around the world have reopened and the company's global business is steadily recovering. 

Now 99 percent of Starbucks stores in China have reopened, and more than 95% in the US have resumed business, Starbucks disclosed.