Starbucks, Alibaba agree delivery tie-up in China

Starbucks has announced a New Retail partnership with Alibaba Group to begin delivering its drinks and baked goods in China.

Collaborating across a number of businesses within the Alibaba ecosystem, including Ele.me, Hema, Tmall, Taobao and Alipay, Starbucks will pilot delivery services beginning September, establish ‘Delivery Kitchens’ for delivery order fulfillment and integrate multiple platforms to co-create a virtual store.

“Thanks to the elevated customer experience delivered by our over 45,000 partners, Starbucks is growing and innovating faster in China than anywhere else in the world,” says Kevin Johnson, President and CEO, Starbucks Coffee Company. “Our transformational partnership with Alibaba will reshape modern retail and represents a significant milestone in our efforts to exceed the expectations of Chinese consumers.”

Daniel Zhang, CEO at Alibaba Group, adds: “Alibaba is thrilled to expand our existing partnership with Starbucks by leveraging our cutting-edge New Retail infrastructure and digital power to enable an unprecedented experience for consumers. This partnership is again a testament to the success of our New Retail strategy.”

Further details here.

Sign up for our free retail technology newsletter here.