SHANGHAI: Starbucks Corp. is partnering with Alibaba to deliver its coffee in Chinese cities, betting the move will revive sales growth in its second-largest market that is witnessing aggressive competition from local coffee start-ups.
Starbucks flagged in June that it was pursuing such a tie-up after reporting a sudden slowdown in China sales growth, which it partly blamed on a government crackdown on third-party delivery firms that had previously helped drive orders at its cafes.
“We quickly saw that here is a world class technology company ... that’s focused on retail and modern-day retail,” Starbucks Chief Executive Kevin Johnson told reporters in Shanghai.
“I consider this strategic partnership to be one that ... will just be rocket fuel for Starbucks’ growth and continued expansion in China,” he said.
The Seattle-based company will begin delivery services in September from 150 Starbucks stores located in key trade zones in Beijing and Shanghai and plans to expand that to more than 2,000 stores across 30 cities by the end of 2018, Starbucks and Alibaba said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The companies will collaborate across businesses within the Alibaba group, including delivery platform Ele.me, supermarket chain Hema, online retailers Tmall and Taobao, and mobile and online payment platform Alipay.
The delivery program will leverage Ele.me’s 3 million registered riders, and Starbucks will establish “Starbucks Delivery Kitchens” inside Hema stores and use the supermarket’s delivery system to fulfil Starbucks delivery orders.
Johnson said that some parts of the agreement were exclusive, while others were not, but declined to give details. Starbucks China CEO Belinda Wong said later that the Ele.me tie-up was exclusive.
The tie-up had been discussed for more than a year, Starbucks and Alibaba said. They did not give any financial details of the partnership.
Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang said there was a plan to set up Starbucks delivery kitchens in all Hema stores in the future, but he did not give a timeline.
China has offered Starbucks rich pickings in recent years, thanks to a burgeoning cafe culture which has helped offset growing saturation in the United States. It has 3,400 stores in the country and plans to almost double that number by 2022.
But it is coming under increasing pressure from local companies such as Luckin Coffee, which has expanded rapidly on the back of a supercharged growth plan based on cheap delivery, online ordering, big discounts and premium pay for its staff.
Starbucks’ shares fell steeply in June after the company said it expected slowing sales growth in China. Last week it announced a 2 percent slide in quarterly same-store sales for China, a steep fall versus 7 percent growth a year earlier.
Before the deal, Starbucks had no formal online delivery in China where Ele.me competes with Meituan-Dianping, which is backed by gaming giant Tencent Holdings Ltd.
Instead, unapproved third-party delivery services had filled that gap by placing large Starbucks orders for delivery to their own customers, often resulting in long store queues. Analysts have said that making a delivery arrangement official would likely push up costs for Starbucks.
Ele.me CEO Wang Lei said that the plan is to deliver Starbucks orders within half an hour.
Andrew Atkinson, marketing manager at Shanghai-based research and marketing consultancy China Skinny, told Reuters on Wednesday that such a partnership was a “natural response to one of (Starbucks’) first major challenges” in China.
“And it’s really becoming now that if you’re not on one of these apps you’re missing out a huge opportunity,” he said.
The partnership was also likely a win for Internet giant Alibaba which has been pushing hard to expand Ele.me since it fully acquired the company in April, he said.
Starbucks ties up with Alibaba for China coffee delivery to revive sales
Starbucks ties up with Alibaba for China coffee delivery to revive sales
- Starbucks flagged in June that it was pursuing such a tie-up after reporting a sudden slowdown in China sales growth
- China has offered Starbucks rich pickings in recent years, thanks to a burgeoning cafe culture
First EU–Saudi roundtable on critical raw materials reflects shared policy commitment
RIYADH: The EU–Saudi Arabia Business and Investment Dialogue on Advancing Critical Raw Materials Value Chains, held in Riyadh as part of the Future Minerals Forum, brought together senior policymakers, industry leaders, and investors to advance strategic cooperation across critical raw materials value chains.
Organized under a Team Europe approach by the EU–GCC Cooperation on Green Transition Project, in coordination with the EU Delegation to Saudi Arabia, the European Chamber of Commerce in the Kingdom and in close cooperation with FMF, the dialogue provided a high-level platform to explore European actions under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and ResourceEU alongside the Kingdom’s aspirations for minerals, industrial, and investment priorities.
This is in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and broader regional ambitions across the GCC, MENA, and Africa.
ResourceEU is the EU’s new strategic action plan, launched in late 2025, to secure a reliable supply of critical raw materials like lithium, rare earths, and cobalt, reducing dependency on single suppliers, such as China, by boosting domestic extraction, processing, recycling, stockpiling, and strategic partnerships with resource-rich nations.
The first ever EU–Saudi roundtable on critical raw materials was opened by the bloc’s Ambassador to the Kingdom, Christophe Farnaud, together with Saudi Deputy Minister for Mining Development Turki Al-Babtain, turning policy alignment into concrete cooperation.
Farnaud underlined the central role of international cooperation in the implementation of the EU’s critical raw materials policy framework.
“As the European Union advances the implementation of its Critical Raw Materials policy, international cooperation is indispensable to building secure, diversified, and sustainable value chains. Saudi Arabia is a key partner in this effort. This dialogue reflects our shared commitment to translate policy alignment into concrete business and investment cooperation that supports the green and digital transitions,” said the ambassador.
Discussions focused on strengthening resilient, diversified, and responsible CRM supply chains that are essential to the green and digital transitions.
Participants explored concrete opportunities for EU–Saudi cooperation across the full value chain, including exploration, mining, and processing and refining, as well as recycling, downstream manufacturing, and the mobilization of private investment and sustainable finance, underpinned by high environmental, social, and governance standards.
From the Saudi side, the dialogue was framed as a key contribution to the Kingdom’s industrial transformation and long-term economic diversification agenda under Vision 2030, with a strong focus on responsible resource development and global market integration.
“Developing globally competitive mineral hubs and sustainable value chains is a central pillar of Saudi Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s industrial transformation. Our engagement with the European Union through this dialogue to strengthen upstream and downstream integration, attract high-quality investment, and advance responsible mining and processing. Enhanced cooperation with the EU, capitalizing on the demand dynamics of the EU Critical Raw Materials Act, will be key to delivering long-term value for both sides,” said Al-Babtain.
Valere Moutarlier, deputy director-general for European industry decarbonization, and directorate-general for the internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs at European Commission, said the EU Critical Raw Materials Act and ResourceEU provided a clear framework to strengthen Europe’s resilience while deepening its cooperation with international partners.
“Cooperation with Saudi Arabia is essential to advancing secure, sustainable, and diversified critical raw materials value chains. Dialogues such as this play a key role in translating policy ambitions into concrete industrial and investment cooperation,” she added.
