Starbucks' new CEO hopes China becomes largest market

(ECNS) -- Starbucks' new CEO Laxman Narasimhan said on Tuesday that he hopes China becomes the company's largest market in the world during his visit to the country.

Narasimhan expressed his expectations for China, Starbucks’ second largest market, in an interview with media outlets. “China is a very large consumption market for Starbucks and it will become larger.”

Starbucks set up the goal of opening 9,000 stores in China by 2025 in last September. But Narasimhan said in an interview with media outlets that Starbucks will not stop at the goal while l insisting on the current operation mode of direct selling .

“Starbucks’ market will become bigger in the next three years, and the goal of 9,000 stores is just a milestone," Narasimhan said.

He pointed out that the coffee brand still has great opportunities in China in terms of per capita coffee consumption by citing figures in China, Japan, and the U.S., which are 12 cups, 200 cups and 380 cups respectively. Therefore, the Chinese market has great potential, he added. 

He noted that the feedback his team had received about the Chinese market was very encouraging and that Starbucks might open over 9,000 stores in China. 

In addition, he stressed the importance of technology, which has made contributions to 47 percent of deals of the company.

"We will invest more in the field of digitalization," he said.