Starbucks is making a super-sized bet on China, where it is opening the world’s biggest outlet¹ as part of efforts to maintain its upscale reputation in an increasingly important market.

星巴克(Starbucks)在中国市场押下重注，推出约3万平方公尺（2700平米）的臻选烘焙工坊。此举是该公司为了在重要性日益提升的中国市场保持其高端品牌声誉举措的一部分。

The Seattle-based company has spread to more than 130 cities in China, where it now operates about 3,000 stores. It is opening new outlets² at a rate faster than one a day as it seeks growth in the country following several quarters of underwhelming results in the US, its biggest market.

总部在西雅图的星巴克现已在中国130多个城市开设了近3000家门店。在其最大市场美国市场连续多个季度的销售业绩不尽人意后，星巴克正以每天新开超过一家门店的速度在中国市场扩张，以寻求业绩增长。

The new 30,000 sq ft roastery in Shanghai — which is approximately half the size of a football pitch — is Starbucks’ first outside the US. The outlet, which will open on Wednesday, allows customers to watch beans being roasted and brewed³ in Bunsen-burner style tubes and is positioned as “super premium⁴,” the company said.

上海新开的这家烘焙工坊——面积近半个足球场大——是星巴克在美国之外的首家臻选烘焙工坊。这家定位为“超高端”的新店于星期三开张迎客，顾客可以观看咖啡豆烘焙以及在本生灯般的装置中冲煮的全过程，该公司说。

As white-collar Chinese consumers with rising incomes switch to pricier premium goods, Starbucks is betting that thirst will extend to coffee.

随着收入不断增加的中国白领消费者转向价格更高的高端产品，星巴克押注，这股消费升级热潮将会延伸到咖啡领域。

China could become Starbucks’ biggest market within a decade, executive chairman Howard Schultz told the Financial Times in Shanghai on Tuesday.

星巴克的创始人兼执行董事长霍华德?舒尔茨(Howard Schultz)周二在上海向英国《金融时报》表示，中国可望在十年内成为星巴克最大的市场。

Starbucks outlets in China have been seen as an upmarket destination for business meetings or dates, and so are able to charge more for a coffee than in the US. But other US brands such as McDonald’s and KFC that expanded rapidly in China have struggled in recent years as consumers in large cities began to desert in favour of higher-end options.

在中国，星巴克咖啡店被视为商务会面或约会的高档场所，因此，它在中国的咖啡售价高于美国。不过，曾在中国快速扩张的麦当劳(McDonald's)和肯德基(KFC)等其他美国品牌近年来举步维艰，因为中国大城市的消费者开始放弃这些品牌，转而青睐更高端的餐厅。

Starbucks has 600 stores in Shanghai — more than in New York or London — but faces competition from an increasing number of artisanal outlets. Li Chaoxiang, 23, who works in an investment bank, said: “Starbucks is not a premium brand any more, as when it first came. Now in Shanghai you can see Starbucks anywhere.”

星巴克在上海有600家门店——超过了纽约或伦敦——但面临越来越多精品咖啡店的竞争。今年23岁、在一家投资银行工作的李超祥（音译）说：“与当初进入中国时不一样了，星巴克已不再是高端品牌。在上海，星巴克现在随处可见。”

“The ubiquity of those companies worked against them,” Mr Schultz said of US fast-food chains. “The roastery represents the ability to take the customer up.”

“开店太多制约了这些公司的发展。” 舒尔茨在谈到美国的快餐连锁店时说，“通过烘焙工坊，我们能够带着客户升级消费。”

Revenue from the Asia-Pacific region, which includes China, accounted for almost 15 per cent of Starbucks’ revenue for the fiscal⁵ year ended in October, up from 5.5 per cent five years earlier. Same-store sales grew 8 per cent in China in the most recent quarter, compared with 2 per cent globally.

在10月份结束的财务年度，包括中国在内的亚太地区收入，在星巴克总收入中的占比由五年前的5.5%上升至接近15%。最近一个季度，中国的同店销售增长8%，而全球增幅仅为2%。

“This is an inflection point for the company where China will become a much more important component⁶ of the financial results of Starbucks,” Mr Schultz said, adding there would be “less dependence⁷ on the US business” in the future.

“这是星巴克发展的一个拐点，今后，中国市场将在星巴克的财务业绩中占据重要得多的地位。” 舒尔茨说。将来，公司对“美国业务的依赖性会下降”，他补充说。

Starbucks opens a store about every 15 hours in China, including in a growing number of smaller cities that many Americans have “never heard of,” Mr Schultz said. “We’re seeing fantastic returns in those cities which are consistent with the early days of Shanghai and Beijing,” he added.

星巴克每15个小时就在中国开设一家新店，其中包括在越来越多很多美国人“从未听说过”的小城市，舒尔茨说。“在这些城市的投资回报非常高，同星巴克最初进入上海和北京时的情况一样。” 他补充说。

“One thing we didn’t count on is how busy the stores would be in the afternoon and evening, which is different from the US where we are busiest in the morning,” he noted⁸. He added that same-store sales had been boosted by increasing morning patronage⁹ “in the last year or two” in China.

“我们没有考虑到的一点是，这些咖啡店在下午和晚上会非常忙，这与美国的情况不同，美国市场的高峰期通常是在早上。”他说。同店销售因“过去一两年”中国市场上午的客流量增加而受到提振，他还指出。

While Starbucks has been under fire for its tax arrangements in Europe, Mr Schultz, who stepped down as chief executive this year, has been an outspoken¹⁰ critic of Donald Trump¹¹ and the recent tax reform bill passed by the US Senate.

虽然星巴克因其在欧洲的税务安排而受到抨击，但今年辞去首席执行官职位的舒尔茨，一直直言不讳地批评总统唐纳德?特朗普(Donald Trump)和最近美国国会通过的税改议案。

“I have a policy of not speaking about American politics on foreign soil,” he said. “I’ll just say this: I would like to see a tax policy that is more compassionate¹² and serves all people not just corporate¹³ America”.

“我给自己划定的红线是，不在外国的土地上谈论美国政治。”他说，“我就这样说吧，我希望看到税收政策更富有同情心，能造福所有人、而不仅仅是美国的公司。”