CHINA – Multinational coffeehouse chain Starbucks has conveyed the sole leadership of its Chinese operations to Molly Liu after long-serving co-CEO Belinda Wong stepped down on September 30.
Wong will remain the Chairwoman of the coffee chain’s business in China, with a focus on development strategy and building brand awareness.
Liu served as co-CEO with Wong since October 2, 2023.
The new CEO joined Starbucks in 2012. She quickly rose through the ranks, serving as Vice President of Digital Ventures for the coffeehouse chain since July 2016. In October 2021, Molly assumed the additional role of Chief Operating Officer.
As Vice President of Digital Ventures, she is credited with overseeing the launch of the Starbucks Delivers and Starbucks Now digital ordering services.
As Starbucks China’s CEO, Liu will be responsible for driving outlet growth and rejuvenating sales in the coffeehouse chain’s second-largest market.
This outlet growth initiative is especially important because the coffeehouse chain faces stiff competition from fast-growing local coffeehouse chains Cotti Coffee and Luckin Coffee in the post-pandemic era.
In May, Xiamen-based Luckin Coffee crossed its 9,000-store landmark after opening 1,167 new outlets in the first quarter to reach 9,381 outlets in China.
Luckin Cofee’s revenues in the first quarter also rose 84.5% year-on-year (YoY) to reach RMB 4.4 billion (US$646 million).
Starbucks also faces stiff competition with Cotti Coffee in the Chinese market, which has reported significant success through its value-focused menu and convenient outlet locations.
Cotti Coffee opened 1,300 locations across 181 Chinese cities in the five months of 2023 and revealed plans to open 10,000 locations across China by the end of 2025.
Starbucks China, on the other hand, reported a sales decline of 11% to US$733.8 million in Q2 2024, following a 14% reduction in like-for-like sales.
Starbucks is also currently trailing its objective of reaching 9,000 stores in China by the start of 2025, ending Q2 2024 with 7,306 outlets in the country.
The leadership change was announced barely two weeks after former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol took the helm of Starbucks, pledging to capture growth and capitalize on Starbucks’ strengths in the ‘dynamic’ Chinese market.
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