星巴克CEO谈在中国的发展

Well, in many ways we've already begun doing it. We've been here for 12 years now. With 400 stores in the mainland, 800 stores in greater China, the business is profitable. And I think, most importantly, the Chinese consumer has embraced Starbucks as their own.

But what is it about the Chinese that has changed. Is it just that they are wealthier? That they are more sophisticated? Their tastes are changing? What do you put it down to?

I think it’s a few things. One, obviously, there's a tremendous size in terms of the aspirational middle class, the numbers of people who have access to disposable income, and also they are quite familiar with western brands. One of the things that surprised us the most is how aware they were of Starbucks before we got here. And how fast they embraced change is another thing that has really surprised us. People were drinking black coffee when we got here. Now they are drinking cafe latte, and Cappuccinos and Frappuccinos and it's just so quick.

So what you are talking about is the Starbucks experience. But there's been a lot of criticism that some of the Starbucks experience is being lost in other parts of the world. That Starbucks has lost its gloss. Are you re-finding that again, here?

I returned as CEO in January of 2008. And since that time we've literally transformed the company. Last quarter we had record profits, record revenue in our 39-year history. I think the thing that we've done really well in last couple of years is go back to the roots and heritage and tradition of our company. Most specifically, the values of our people. And so, tough choices were made, but the company is completely transformed and healthy. And in terms of China, China is gonna be the fastest growing, biggest market for the future of Starbucks outside North America.

So what we are talking about here is your bean-to-cup strategy. How does Yunnan fit into that?

We view China, obviously, as a very big prize. And what we wanna do is make a comprehensive, strategic commitment to doing businesses in China in a way that's locally relevant. Starbucks, for the first time in our 40-year history, is gonna start growing coffee. Now, we are already sourcing and roasting the highest quality coffee in the world, but for the first time in our history. We are actually plant trees and grow coffee in China, in the Yunnan province. We've discovered a part of the area there that can produce the world's best coffee in three to four years. We will bring coffee from Yunnan to the world.

And that takes us just back to our first point again, changing the culture here. Who are your main rivals going to be, because this is a growing market?

Well, I think we've had competition in every market. We can't allow the competitors to define who we are. We control our own destiny. The size of the prize here is there will be lots of people who will come into the marketplace, both in the coffee business, and others, that will win. And one thing I can tell you is we are taking the long term, making the right kind of investments ahead of the growth curve. We are gonna build a significant business here in China, in which Starbucks will be known as the leader in our industry.