Starbucks says it is not currently considering a full sale of its China operations

U.S. cafe chain Starbucks said it is not currently considering a full sale of its China operations, aft Chinese fiscal mag Caixin reported that it was, without disclosing wherever it obtained the information.

Starbucks has held preliminary talks with much than a twelve imaginable buyers, Caixin besides reported connected Monday, citing sources who did not specify what was for sale.

"I tin confirm Starbucks is not currently considering a full sale of its China operations," a institution spokesperson said successful a statement.

Starbucks kicked disconnected a formal sale process of its China operations in May, inviting funny buyers to taxable answers to a database of questions by the extremity of past week, said 3 sources with cognition of the situation.

The Seattle-based company, advised by Goldman Sachs, asked funny buyers astir their firm culture, absorption style, sustainability measures, however they dainty employees, arsenic good arsenic the imaginable woody operation and concern program for Starbucks China, said the people, who declined to beryllium named arsenic the accusation was not public.

Starbucks, however, has not decided yet whether to merchantability a controlling oregon a number involvement successful its China business, oregon whether it volition support immoderate parts of its China operations, specified arsenic its proviso chain, said 2 of the sources.

Starbucks declined to remark further connected the details of the sale process. Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond to a Reuters petition for comment.

Starbucks opened its 1.5 cardinal yuan ($209 million) Coffee Innovation Park successful the metropolis of Kunshan, neighbouring Shanghai, successful 2023. The 80,000-square-metre roasting works has the capableness to proviso each of Starbucks China's stores.

More than 20 institutions responded to Starbucks, including a fig of backstage equity firms, 1 of the sources said.

Starbucks is expected to shortlist buyers for the adjacent steps, 2 of them said.

"The intent was to fto everyone archer their communicative freely and take immoderate the champion imaginable it is and proceed," 1 of them said.

Reuters reported successful February KKR & Co, Fountainvest Partners and PAG are among buyout firms funny successful acquiring a involvement in Starbucks' China business.

The sale comes as Starbucks has mislaid marketplace stock to lower-priced Chinese rivals successful caller years arsenic consumers tighten their purse strings and ever-cheaper options from fast-growing rivals Luckin and Cotti made it much hard to warrant prices of astir 30 yuan ($4.20) per cupful of coffee.

Starbucks's marketplace stock in China has declined from 34% successful 2019 to 14% successful 2024, according to information from Euromonitor International, a marketplace probe provider.

Price pressures person accrued arsenic large e-commerce firms in China offer user subsidies to stimulate their nutrient transportation and "instant retail" businesses, referring to deliveries made wrong 1 hour.

These subsidies and coupons person pushed the terms of a cupful of java adjacent lower, meaning consumers are often paying little than 5 yuan per cupful of java delivered to their door.

Earlier this month, Starbucks announced its first-ever terms drop in China, lowering the terms of immoderate non-coffee iced drinks by an mean of 5 yuan.