Starbucks ties up with Alibaba

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.