While Other U.S. Companies Flee China, Starbucks Doubles Down<br />“The unlock was when we realized it had to be a combination of both U. S.<br />and Chinese leaders, and over time a totally dedicated Chinese leadership team led by a Chinese C. E.O.,” Mr. Schultz said.<br />The company was also forced to abandon its store in the Forbidden City — the former Chinese imperial palace, in Beijing<br />— after a sustained campaign to evict it by protesters who contended its presence was undermining Chinese culture.<br />Starbucks has found a way into the culture of China — as well as the good graces of the Chinese government — by investing heavily there, paying significantly higher wages than competitors,<br />and extending its employee ownership benefits to Chinese workers.<br />That’s where the company is planning to open a 30,000-square-foot coffee emporium in December, one<br />that Mr. Schultz believes “will have a larger consumer impact than the opening of Shanghai Disney.”<br />The story of Starbucks in China is a nearly 20-year journey that may be a case study for American companies that have struggled to do business there.<br />But as it turned out, he added, “it was a mistake.”<br />Mr. Schultz and his team realized that to gain the trust of Chinese customers, employees<br />and government officials, they needed to show that they trusted them, too.<br />Consider this mind-boggling statistic that I culled from the company’s statement last week about its Chinese ambitions:<br />Starbucks is opening more than 500 stores a year there — which amounts to more than one new store a day.
