Starbucks store sales grow 3% in China in fiscal 2020 first quarter

US top coffee chain Starbucks Corporation said Tuesday that its business in China is growing steadily as its comparable store sales rose 3 percent in the country.

Starbucks, based in Seattle, Washington state, said the sales growth in the Chinese market was one of the major factors that drove a 5-percent increase in its comparable store sales for this quarter across the world.

The number of the company's global net stores rose 6 percent from the previous year, which was led by 16 percent store growth in China, Starbucks' second-largest but fastest growing market.

Starbucks posted a 15-percent growth in revenues from its China operations during the first quarter that ended December 29, 2019.

In a financial results report released Monday, Starbucks registered an increase of 10 percent in mobile orders from Chinese customers for the three-month period, compared with the previous quarter. The app-based sales accounted for 15 percent of its total revenues generated on the China market.

Moreover, about 10.2 million Chinese users have enrolled in its Starbucks Rewards membership program during the quarter, representing a jump of 40 percent form a year ago.

"We remain optimistic and committed to the long-term opportunity in China, building on our brand heritage and 20-year legacy of profitable growth," Starbucks President and CEO Kevin Johnson said.