MILAN – As first announced in 2022, Starbucks is establishing an Innovation and Tech Center (SITC) in Shenzhen, in China’s southern Guangdong province, the company said on Friday. The US coffee chain will invest 1.5 billion yuan (over $206 million) over the next three year in the new SITC, whose opening is slated for next month.
Located in Shenzhen’s Futian District , the center will accelerate the digitization of Starbucks retail operations and omni-channel business in China by “leveraging the power of data analytics, modeling and decision-making to drive operational excellence and create new experiences centered around people and coffee.”
The SITC will provide a platform for brewing human-centric innovations that reimagine Starbucks retail landscape and customer experience in China, said the company in a release. According to the company will focus on:
- Customers – Creating exceptional new in-store and omni-channel customer experiences while elevating personalized engagement and human connection to meet the evolving needs of discerning Chinese customers.
- Partners – Driving simplification and automation of store operations, empowering partners to pursue their passion for coffee craft and customer connection.
- Coffee – Innovating novel coffee experiences at speed via data capabilities and commercialization agility, bringing customers delightful coffee beverages and food offerings.
- Productivity – Digitalizing all dimensions of its business, from supply chain and store operations to store development, driving operational excellence and unlocking additional efficiencies as it scales in the market.
- Sustainability – Reducing environmental footprint through wide adoption of technology solutions across the coffee value chain.
This marks just the latest of Starbucks investments to fuel its long-term growth in China and be at the forefront of that market’s dynamic and fast evolving retail landscape.
Come this fall, the company will be also opening the Starbucks China Coffee Innovation Park, another landmark investment that will feature a smart integrated distribution center and other infrastructure designed to unleash our growth in China.
Starbucks plans to reach a total of 9,000 stores in China by 2025. The company has currently more than 6,500 stores scattered in 250 cities in the Chinese mainland.
“Shenzhen is a hotbed of digital innovation in China and an early demonstration area for the development of the Greater Bay Area. We are excited to work with like-minded local tech talent and entrepreneurs to unlock the infinite possibilities of human connection through technology,” said Belinda Wong, chairman and CEO of Starbucks China.
Experts said that the move by Starbucks sends a positive signal to multinational companies they should continue to ramp up investment in the huge Chinese market.
