Recently, the first Starbucks store in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province was unveiled at Wanda Plaza, and Starbucks said that it had come to "the first city in China to welcome the sun". Behind the opening of the store to Jiamusi, Starbucks is actively entering the sinking market. At present, Starbucks can be seen in Guang'an in Sichuan, Ankang in Shaanxi, Jishou in Hunan, Yangquan in Shanxi, Pingxiang in Jiangxi and other fourth- and fifth-tier cities.
In fact, the gradual completion of consumer education in coffee culture and the development of county economy have made consumers in the sinking market also have a high demand for coffee. In the face of the potential of the sinking market, Starbucks has said that it plans to open 3,000 new stores by 2025, covering 300 cities in China.
The first store in Jiamusi opened.
It is understood that Jiamusi is located in the center of Heilongjiang, Songhua River, Ussuri River and Sanjiang Plain, which is the easternmost prefecture-level administrative region of China's land and the earliest place to welcome the rising sun, and is known as the "East Pole of China".
On the exterior of the store, Starbucks designers took the geographical features of Jiamusi as the design inspiration, and the undulating curves of the mountains ran through the design of the store. The gray curved background of the façade is inspired by the black earth of Jiamusi.
In the new Jiamusi store, the walls are decorated with an artistic mural of "Bean to Cup", which integrates the intangible cultural heritage skills of the Jiamusi Hezhe people and is made of fish skin, integrating the coffee culture of Starbucks with the local culture of Jiamusi, and interpreting the entire process of coffee from planting, growing, harvesting to roasting, and finally delivering coffee to customers.
The opening of the first store in Jiamusi coincides with Starbucks' classic red cup season. Starbucks said that this year, Starbucks' design team created four distinctive "China-limited" red cups, and in the Jiamusi store, consumers can drink classic toffee hazelnut latte, Mianyun toffee hazelnut latte and rum-flavored mocha. At the same time, Jiamusi stores also provide classic coffee series, including latte, cappuccino, caramel macchiato, Fullie white and mocha coffee, as well as Frappuccino, strong cup series and other drinks.
Consumers can also experience Starbucks' customized services in Jiamusi stores, choosing beverage temperature, sweetness, coffee type and milk type. In addition, the Jiamusi store will also hold regular coffee classroom activities, where baristas will share with consumers how to taste a cup of coffee.
Starbucks said that with the continuous development and vigorous development in China, Starbucks has brought a unique coffee experience to more customers, and also created employment opportunities for many young people to display their talents. The opening of the first store in Jiamusi is a new addition to the Starbucks China family and a testament to Starbucks' continued investment and determination to develop in the Chinese market.
Imagine the sinking market.
In recent years, with the rise of the "Generation Z" consumer group and the rise of coffee culture, the penetration rate of the coffee market in lower-tier cities has continued to increase.
According to the "2023 Blue Book of China's Coffee Industry" released by CIC Consulting, the sinking of coffee brands in the Chinese market has entered a white-hot stage under the premise of the gradual completion of consumer education on coffee culture. Consumers in lower-tier cities in China are more receptive to coffee and more sensitive to coffee. In addition, the ability of the new generation of consumers in lower-tier cities to access information is highly symmetrical with that of high-tier cities, so consumers want to be able to quickly experience the latest hot products in high-tier cities.
According to data released by Meituan Takeaway in 2022, the number of coffee orders in third-tier cities doubled in 2022, and the year-on-year growth of coffee orders in fourth- and fifth-tier cities was more than 250%, much higher than that in first- and second-tier cities. It can be seen that consumers in lower-tier cities also have a high demand for coffee.
In the face of the imaginative sinking market, Starbucks has made frequent moves. In 2022, Starbucks said in its 2025 China Strategic Vision that Starbucks plans to open 3,000 new stores by 2025 at an average rate of one new store every 9 hours, covering 300 cities in China. Starbucks' Q1 FY2023 report shows that Starbucks opened 69 new stores and entered 10 new cities, including Guang'an in Sichuan, Ankang in Shaanxi, Jishou in Hunan, Yangquan in Shanxi, Pingxiang in Jiangxi and other fourth- and fifth-tier cities.
The opening of the store in Jiamusi confirms that Starbucks is gradually filling the "blank spot". In November, Starbucks China's chairman and co-CEO Wang Jingying said at the company's strategy update meeting that Starbucks began to enter China's counties more actively four years ago. Going forward, Starbucks will take a more granular approach to reporting on the number of nearly 3,000 county-level administrative districts in China. According to Wang Jingying, Starbucks has increased its business from more than 500 county-level administrative districts to more than 800 in the past four years, and there are still many "blank spots" behind this.
Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, believes that the new tea brand has fully educated consumers in lower-tier cities. "Consumers are willing to spend more than ten yuan or even dozens of yuan to drink a cup of milk tea, and they are also willing to buy a cup of coffee at the same price, which also provides a foundation for Starbucks to develop the sinking market. Jiang Han said.
Provide a significant driving force.
Starbucks Global CEO Nashan also expressed new expectations for the Chinese market, "The number of coffee drinkers in the Chinese market continues to grow, and we will steadily maintain our leading position in the high-end market, continue to develop store types, and enter more new cities." ”
Zhu Danpeng, an analyst of China's food industry, believes that Starbucks, as China's leading coffee brand, has its own brand tonality, social scene and sense of topic.
The store saturation rate in first- and second-tier cities is already very high, and the sinking market is a very good choice for Starbucks to break through the bottleneck of its own development.
In addition, the development of the county economy has also laid the foundation for Starbucks to explore the sinking market. "At present, the process of urbanization in China is further accelerating, and the county economy is also further strengthening, which has a great policy dividend support for high-end consumption. Zhu Danphong said.
For Starbucks, a veteran coffee giant, its complete industrial chain and ability to actively respond to consumer needs are important driving forces to accelerate the layout of sinking cities.
On the one hand, Starbucks is actively integrating the upstream industry chain. In September this year, the Starbucks China Coffee Innovation Industrial Park was officially put into operation, covering the entire industrial chain from "green beans to coffee".
On the other hand, Starbucks is also actively innovating and upgrading its products and consumption scenarios on the basis of meeting the consumption needs of young people. In August this year, Starbucks launched a new espresso series, "Starbucks Mousse Concentrate", which creates a blended mousse taste by whipping espresso thousands of times with a special thick milkIn October, in response to consumer dissatisfaction with Starbucks only offering medium, large and extra-large cups, Starbucks launched a 259ml small-cup "strong" series of coffees to achieve a rich, milky and mellow taste of coffee with "double classic deep roast and concentrated coffee, exquisite milk-to-coffee ratio".
For the "third place", based on consumers' consumption needs for fast and convenient coffee purchase, Starbucks has joined hands with AutoNavi Map to create a new retail channel called "Pick Up on the Street". For the "Fourth Space", Starbucks has launched a tea and coffee "Dedicated Star Delivery Time and Space TM Series" for "delivery", which uses the delivery time to slowly extract the flavor of tea during the delivery process, and delivers a cup of tea and coffee with the best taste to consumers.