星巴克强力吸引中国消费者（在线收听）

　　Converting The Masses:Starbucks In China

       It sounds like Mission Impossible：Sell coffee to China’s tea drinkers．Starbucks’solution is to select high－profile locations on the busiest streets, where stores are sure to se duce the see－and－be－seen set．As Starbucks launches an aggressive expansion in China，a coffee frontier steeped in nearly 5,000 years of tea．The goal：to build hip hang－outs that tap into a new taste for China’s emerging middle class．Though Starbucks is still hardly known in China，with 69 stores，it’s taking a big bet．The Seattle－based company announced recently that it would increase its stake in its Shanghai and Taiwan joint venture with President Coffee from 5% to 50%．Elsewhere，Starbucks opens stores in Guangzhou，its third mainland Chinese city，this year，and aims to open hundreds more in the coming two years．Starbucks China doesn’t plan any advertising，promotions，or other marketing strategies，aside from sponsoring an on－line coffee club and the occasional office－tower coffee tasting．In－stead，the company is counting on selecting such high－visibility，high－traffic cafe locations that they market themselves．Its main advertising medium is the store itself．But in fast－changing Chinese cities，finding locations that will embody the right lifestyle is more akin to gambling than science．The computerized mapping databases that the company uses to test a potential street corner in the United States would be little help in Chinese cities．In the U．S．，if you see a mall，it will probably still be there in two years．While a year passesby in a Chinese location，and you almost won’t know your way around there any more．Yet Starbucks faces an uphill battle．Local media reported that 70% of people they surveyed would rather not see the chain in Beijing’s Forbidden City．And even for middle－class Chinese，Starbucks is a barely affordable luxury．While retailers say a top marketing weapon in urban Chi na is to charge more for public consumption．That’s because Chinese customers have different priorities than their American yuppie counterparts．Guys 40 years old are not coffee drinkers，but if the environment is good and the coffee is not bad，they’ll come back．The store layout，artwork and food options make Starbucks more friendly to Chinese eyes，but coffee remains the core offering and people don’t go there for the coffee．They go there to present themselves as modern Chinese in a public setting．星巴克强力吸引中国消费者向中国的饮茶人卖咖啡喝，这听起来像是不可能的使命。而星巴克的招术是选择繁华街道的黄金地段，在那儿咖啡店一定会吸引那些去看的和被看的人群。
　　随着星巴克在中国开拓市场的强劲势头，咖啡先锋浸入拥有近 5000 年茶文化历史的中国，目标是把星巴克建成时新的常去的场所，吸引中国新兴中产阶级品味新的口味。
　　星巴克在中国只开设了69家咖啡店，很少有人知其名，但它决心大干一番。最近，以西雅图为基点的星巴克公司宣布要把其上海和台湾分公司与总统咖啡联合企业的投资股份从5%加大到50%。另外，星巴克今年还要在中国大陆的第三大城市广州开店，在未来两年内要开数百家店。
　　除了在网上主办咖啡俱乐部及偶尔在写字楼提供咖啡品尝活动外，在中国星巴克不打算进行任何广告宣传、促销活动，也不打算实施其他的营销策略。相反，星巴克公司依靠选择那种显眼的、交通发达的咖啡店店址来做自我宣传，星巴克最主要的宣传媒介是咖啡店本身。
　　但在变化飞快的中国大城市找到能体现适当的生活方式的地方很像是一场赌博而不像是科学经营手段。在美国，该公司利用经计算机处理的地图数据库探寻潜在街角，但这种做法在中国城市却没有多大用处。在美国，你看到某个商场，两年后它可能还在那里；但在中国，一年后你几乎都不认得周围的路了。
　　然而星巴克也面临着一场攻艰战。据当地媒体报道，70%的接受调查者不同意星巴克在北京故宫开连锁店。即使对中国的中产阶层而言，星巴克咖啡也是一种刚刚能消费得起的奢侈品。
　　不过零售商们却说，在中国城市营销的一个最强有力的武器就是对大众消费品制定高价格，原因是中国消费者的侧重点与美国的雅皮士们不同。40岁的中国人几乎不喝咖啡，但如果环境优雅、咖啡味道又不差，他们还会成为回头客。星巴克咖啡店的布置、艺术作品及食品供应吸引着中国人的眼球，但咖啡还是主要供应品，而且人们光顾星巴克不是为了喝咖啡，而是在公共场合炫耀自己是新潮的中国人。