Starbucks Corp is to take full ownership of its Japanese operations at a cost of more than US$900 million, a move which the company said was aimed at tapping its second-largest market further.
The Seattle, Washington-based coffee giant said it would buy the 60.5 percent stake it does not already own as part of a two-step tender process expected to be completed by the first half of next year.
Japan was the first overseas destination for Starbucks when it expanded from the US in 1996.
The news, announced on Tuesday, sent shares of Starbucks Coffee Japan up 4.43 percent to ￥1,461 on the JASDAQ start-up market yesterday.
The Japan business, which was launched in 1996 and now has more than 1,000 locations, is a joint venture between Starbucks and Sazaby League, a Tokyo-based firm that operates a wide range of brands; from sundries and apparel, to food and beverages services.
Under the deal, Starbucks said it would buy Sazaby’s 39.5 percent stake for US$505 million, and then move to buy the remaining 21 percent held by other investors at a price of ￥1,465 per share, totaling US$408.5 million.
Starbucks said the deal was aimed at expanding further into the major market, including the possible launch in Japan of its Teavana tea chain.
“The acquisition positions Starbucks to accelerate growth across multiple channels in Japan, including the potential introduction of new concepts,” the company said in a statement.
Starbucks’ stores in Japan, which employ about 25,000 people, have so far held up against a recent downturn in the economy and this month, the unit raised its annual profit forecasts.
For the fiscal year to March next year, the firm said it now expects net profit to rise 28 percent to ￥7.7 billion (US$70.8 million) on sales of ￥137.7 billion.
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS