Nearly 600 Starbucks branches reopen in Shanghai

SHANGHAI -- The Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Shanghai resumed operations on Friday after a two-month suspension.

As of Friday, nearly 600 Starbucks branches in Shanghai have reopened, accounting for about two-thirds of its outlets in the city.

"Nearly 500 of them have reopened in the past three days, which gives our team more confidence," said Leo Tsoi, chief executive officer of Starbucks China.

It is estimated that Shanghai, a city at the forefront of China's boom in coffee consumption, has more than 7,000 coffee shops. Starbucks alone has over 900 branches in Shanghai.

Tsoi noted that a new Starbucks will open in Shanghai's Qingpu District on Saturday. "Both the resumption of existing branches and the opening of the new one reflect our confidence in China's consumer market."

Starbucks announced in 2018 that it aims to have 6,000 branches in China by end of September 2022.