Former Tezign President Tony Yang has reportedly been hired to execute a new expansion strategy as the US coffee chain seeks to turn the tide on falling sales in its key growth market
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Starbucks’ Kerry Center flagship store in Beijing | Photo credit: Starbucks
Starbucks China has reportedly appointed former Tezign President Tony Yang as its first Chief Growth Officer.
According to Chinese media outlet Late Post, Yang will assume responsibility for driving outlet growth and expansion in Starbucks’ second largest market.
Yang has served as President of digital marketing firm Tezign since 2019. He previously held senior marketing roles at Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo and Alibaba Group, as well as a Senior Vice President position at global media agency VML.
His appointment comes less than three months after Starbucks handed Molly Liu sole leadership of its China operations to rebuild sales following a significant decline in annual revenues for the division.
Seattle-based Starbucks entered China in 1999 and currently operates over 7,500 company-owned stores in the vast East Asian country. However, the US coffee giant has lost significant ground over the last few years to value-focused homegrown rivals Luckin Coffee and Cotti Coffee, with fast-growing chains such as Nowwa Coffee, Manner Coffee and Tims China also vying for share in an increasingly competitive market.
Starbucks China saw like-for-like sales fall 8% in the 12 months ended 29 September 2024, with fourth quarter sales declining 14% amid a fall in footfall and average ticket.
In October 2024, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol told investors the coffee chain needed to “understand the potential path to capture growth and capitalise on our strengths” in the “dynamic” Chinese market.
Starbucks has reportedly engaged advisers to analyse several options to grow its business in China, with selling a stake, partnering with a local master franchisee and onboarding private equity investment under consideration.