Starbucks Temporarily Closes Half of Its Stores in China... Companies Also Face Wuhan Exodus

Starbucks Has 4,292 Stores in China... Second Largest Market After the U.S.

McDonald's and Others Also Withdrawing One After Another

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] On the 28th (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that Starbucks will temporarily close more than half of its stores in China, including Hubei Province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus (Wuhan pneumonia) outbreak.

According to the report, Starbucks has 4,292 stores in China as of the end of last year. This is the largest number of stores Starbucks operates in a single country outside of the United States. Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks, said, "We maintain a positive outlook but remain committed to long-term opportunities in China."

WSJ also reported that other American retail chains, including McDonald's, have begun closing stores in China as the Wuhan pneumonia spreads.

Earlier, on the 23rd, Japan's Uniqlo temporarily closed about 100 stores in Hubei Province, including 17 stores in Wuhan city. Uniqlo operates 738 stores in China as of November last year. Uniqlo stated, "We do not know when business will resume."

Japan's Muji also closed 10 stores in Wuhan city, Hubei Province, and suspended operations. Muji operates about 260 stores across China and said it will "monitor administrative and commercial facility trends outside Wuhan city to make further decisions."

According to NHK, in addition to Uniqlo and Muji, Japanese companies operating in Wuhan, Hubei Province, are accelerating the withdrawal of employees. Among the 160 Japanese companies in Wuhan, half are automobile-related manufacturers. Nissan Motor has decided to repatriate local employees and their families except for some. Honda, which has a factory in Wuhan, also plans to send home about 30 resident employees except for some factory managers. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker Tokyo Electron and retailer Aeon have also decided to withdraw Wuhan-based employees except for essential personnel.

Meanwhile, according to the announcement by the Chinese National Health Commission on the 29th, the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus is 5,974, with 132 deaths. The number of suspected cases is 9,239. Starting with the United States, Japan, the European Union (EU), and others have dispatched charter flights to evacuate their nationals. South Korea plans to use Korean Air flights twice daily on the 30th and 31st to bring back Koreans residing in Wuhan.