Starbucks reopens 90% of its stores in China

Stores that remain temporarily closed are heavily concentrated in Hubei province where the outbreak was first reported.

The company temporarily closed some stores in China beginning in late Jan and reduced operating hours at stores that remained open. More than half of Starbucks stores in China were temporarily closed as of Jan 28, 2020.

At peak time in early Feb, about 80 percent of its stores in China were closed. The company has a total of 4,300 stores that employ 58,000 people.

"We were used to opening stores. And now we were considering doing the opposite," recalled Belinda Wong, chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks China. "I had to completely reset the way I am used to thinking. But in the end, you have to think about what is the right thing to do to protect the safety of Starbucks partners (employees) and customers?"