Starbucks joins China price war with discounts for tea drinks
[BEIJING] Starbucks on Monday (Jun 9) announced price cuts for a slew of its tea-based beverages at its stores across China, as the American coffee chain takes a more aggressive approach to revive sales at its second-biggest market.
Starbucks will reduce prices by 5 yuan (S$0.89 cents) on average across more than a dozen Frappuccino, iced tea and tea latte options in its latest campaign to appeal to Chinese consumers for non-coffee offerings during summer, according to a statement posted on the company's official account on Chinese social media WeChat on Monday.
'Improved 'non-coffee' product matrix will go side by side with core coffee offerings to better meet the diversified needs of customers,' said Starbucks China chief growth officer Tony Yang in the statement.
It is rare for the US coffee giant to promote price cuts on its own official social media channels as the chain has long defended its premium positioning in China amid rising competition from cheaper rivals. Persistent price wars across product categories from autos to fast food have pushed China's consumer prices into deflationary territory for four months in a row, according to government data released on Monday.
Starbucks' push to offer more tea-based beverages in China stands in contrast to chief executive officer Brian Niccol's effort to turnaround the US business by streamlining its menu to emphasise coffee. Still, the push for more tea drinks in China could help the US company contend with local tea chains to win back customers in the world's second-largest economy.
With the newly announced price cut, Starbucks said consumers can sip a cup of tea drink for as little as 23 yuan in its spacious lounge-like coffee shops. That brings its prices closer to those at more upscale local tea chains, which often make their beverages for customers to grab on the go. BLOOMBERG
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
44 minutes ago
- Straits Times
US seeking 'handshake' on rare earths from China, White House aide says
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 18, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo WASHINGTON - The three top U.S. trade negotiators are seeking a handshake with China in London talks to seal the agreement on rare earths reached by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday. "The purpose of the meeting today is to make sure that they're serious, but to literally get handshakes," Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC in an interview. "I expect it to be a short meeting with a big, strong handshake," Hassett added. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were set to meet with Chinese counterparts in London on Monday to defuse the trade dispute between the two superpowers that has widened in recent weeks to include export controls over goods critical to global supply chains. Chinese export controls on rare earths was a very significant sticking point, Hassett said. With China controlling most of the global rare earth and magnet supply, its restrictions on sending those to the U.S. could disrupt production for American companies, including automakers, that rely on those materials, he said. Asked about the Chinese objection to U.S. curbs on semiconductor exports, Hassett said: "Our expectation is that after the handshake, then immediately after the handshake, any export controls from the U.S. will be eased, and the rare earths will be released in volume, and then we can go back to negotiating smaller matters." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
US and Chinese officials to meet in London for pivotal trade talks
Officials arrive at the entrance to Lancaster House, on the day when the trade talks are due to take place in London between the U.S. and China, in London, Britain, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville Police officers stand on duty at the entrance of Lancaster House, on the day when the trade talks are due to take place in London between the U.S. and China, in London, Britain, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville Officials arrive at the entrance to Lancaster House, on the day when the trade talks are due to take place in London between the U.S. and China, in London, Britain, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON - Top U.S. and Chinese officials were due to meet in London on Monday for talks aimed at defusing the high-stakes trade dispute that has widened in recent weeks beyond tit-for-tat tariffs to export controls over goods critical to global supply chains. Officials from the two superpowers were due to meet at the ornate Lancaster House to try to get back on track with a preliminary agreement struck last month in Geneva that had briefly lowered the temperature between Washington and Beijing. The talks, which were due to start around 1130 GMT on Monday, come at a crucial time for both economies, with investors looking for some relief from U.S. President Donald Trump's cascade of tariff orders since his return to the White House in January. "The next round of trade talks between the U.S. and China will be held in the UK on Monday," a UK government spokesperson said on Sunday. "We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody's interests, so we welcome these talks." Gathering there will be a U.S. delegation led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and a Chinese contingent helmed by Vice Premier He Lifeng. In Geneva the two sides agreed to reduce steep import taxes on each other's goods that had had the effect of erecting a trade embargo between the world's No. 1 and 2 economies, but U.S. officials in recent weeks accused China of slow-walking on its commitments, particularly around rare earths shipments. The inclusion of Lutnick, whose agency oversees export controls for the U.S., is one indication of how central rare earths has become. He did not attend the Geneva talks, at which the countries struck a 90-day deal to roll back some of the triple-digit tariffs they had placed on each other. POSITIVE CONCLUSION The second round of meetings comes four days after Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke by phone, their first direct interaction since Trump's January 20 inauguration. During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi told Trump to back down from trade measures that roiled the global economy and warned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, according to a Chinese government summary. But Trump said on social media the talks focused primarily on trade led to "a very positive conclusion," setting the stage for Monday's meeting in London. The next day, Trump said Xi had agreed to resume shipments to the U.S. of rare earths minerals and magnets. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. "We want China and the United States to continue moving forward with the agreement that was struck in Geneva," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Fox News program "Sunday Morning Futures" on Sunday. "The administration has been monitoring China's compliance with the deal, and we hope that this will move forward to have more comprehensive trade talks." The preliminary deal in Geneva sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and U.S. indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. The S&P 500 Index, which at its lowest point in early April was down nearly 18% after Trump unveiled his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on goods from across the globe, is now only about 2% below its record high from mid-February. The final third of that rally followed the U.S.-China truce struck in Geneva. Still, that temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and U.S. complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model. While the UK government will provide a venue for Monday's discussions, it will not be party to them but will have separate talks later in the week with the Chinese delegation. The dollar slipped against all major currencies on Monday as investors waited for news, while oil prices were little changed. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
T20 can be US craze like yoga and Bollywood weddings
Cricket - Fifth T20 International - India v England - Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India - February 2, 2025 India players lift the trophy and celebrate after winning the t20 series REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis Cricket - ICC T20 World Cup 2024 - Final - India v South Africa - Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados - June 29, 2024 General view of India fans in the stands before the match REUTERS/Ash Allen T20 can be US craze like yoga and Bollywood weddings Indian-American businessman Sanjay Govil is convinced Twenty20 cricket can be the next big cultural import into the United States, following a trail blazed by yoga and Bollywood-style weddings. Previous investors have held similar dreams of breaking into the U.S. sports league market, only to be thwarted by the nation's obsession with baseball, basketball and American football. IT entrepreneur Govil, however, is confident that along with Microsoft's India-born CEO Satya Nadella and Silicon Valley's Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan he can embed the short, jazzy version of cricket deeply into the U.S. sporting landscape "T20 leagues are the future," Govil, who owns Washington Freedom, one of the six franchises in the Major League Cricket (MLC), told Reuters. "Like Yoga, like Bollywood weddings, things from India and it's crazy here. "People here just love Indian wedding. When we have weddings in hotels, people just stop and watch. It's a spectacle, right?" Although cricket originated in England, India is now its financial engine with a cash cow in named the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 competition, which has a brand value of $12 billion. IPL franchises with deep pockets also own teams in leagues in England, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, West Indies and the United States. The U.S. featured in the first international cricket match, against Canada, in New York in 1844, but cricket remains very much a niche sport in the country. RAISED PROFILE The introduction of the MLC in 2023 and staging matches in last year's T20 World Cup have raised the game's profile. Cricket returning to Olympics after a gap of 128 years at the 2028 Los Angeles Games will be "another big impetus", said Govil, who was born in Canada but grew up in New Delhi before moving to the U.S. Govil, who also owns 50% stake in the Welsh Fire franchise of The Hundred tournament in England, said MLC franchises learned a lot from their interaction with IPL counterparts. "One of the IPL owners came to my house and he educated me on how to build a team," he said. The presence of India's marquee players in the MLC would have been the icing on the cake but Govil respects the Indian board's policy of not allowing its players to take part in leagues abroad. "I'm sure they have some logic behind why they're doing what they're doing, and I respect that," he said. "I have to succeed in the cards which are dealt to me." Govil knows that cricket in the U.S. cannot rely only on the Indian market or south Asian diasporas in order to be successful. "We want to grow domestic talent. We cannot just rely on international players," he said. "We also have to create our own market here, because we cannot just rely on Indian eyeballs watching our matches." "We are in this for a long haul," Govil added. "We are making a lot of investments. We all have to have our own stadiums. "Once we have like eight or nine stadiums, that's when you're going to really see cricket growing in the U.S." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
