From Starbucks to Burger King, multinationals are tapping domestic partners to survive in China’s cutthroat market.
Starbucks in Yuyuan Market, Shanghai, China. Credit: fotokon via Depositphotos
Restaurant chains were among the first foreign companies to enter China when the country opened up in the late 1970s. These days, however, their Chinese businesses have more often become a liability.
Starbucks’s lackluster sales in China have been a major drag on its share price, which has dropped 14 percent in the past year. Burger King’s nearly 1,500 outlets in the country each made less than half a million dollars last year, a fraction of sales in other major markets.
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