Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ:SBUX, ETR:SRB) is considering selling a minority stake in its China business, CEO Brian Niccol told the Financial Times in an interview published Wednesday.
The CEO said the coffee giant has received “a lot of interest” in its China business, its second largest market, made up of approximately 7,760 stores as of the end of March.
“People see the value of the Starbucks brand. They see the coffee category is growing. I think they’d love to be partnering up with us in figuring out how we take this from 8,000 to 20,000 [stores],” Niccol told the publication.
Starbucks said last year it was exploring “strategic partnerships” in China following a decline in same-store sales due to competition from local rivals such as Luckin Coffee and Cotti.
Sources told the publication that a mix of Chinese and global private equity companies are considering purchasing a stake, but that the talks are in early stages.
Niccol said the company intends to “go through the exercise to see if it makes sense to have a partner."
“We’re flexible on what that looks like. We want to have a meaningful stake in it,” he said.
Shares of Starbucks traded up 2.7% at about $94 on Wednesday morning, having gained about 3% in the year to date.