Starbucks' ($SBUX) China conundrum is getting worse.
Thinknum Alternative Data can track each of its locations in China, and the recent decision to shutter roughly half of more than 4,000 stores as researchers and legislators grapple with the Coronavirus is certain to have an impact on shares.
In trading, Wednesday, January 29, shares slipped another 2%, in a week where Starbucks stock has been hurt by its decision to scale back operations in China in a preventative attempt to reduce both staffers' and the public's likelihood of contracting the virus.
Starbucks already had made the decision to shutter more than 100 stores in the Hubei province, where Wuhan is located - but its broader decision to limit operations in China until authorities get a better handle on the Coronavirus situation will also have a sustained impact on its business.
Our second chart, is line graph visualization of our map - and it reflects that from Jan 1 '19 to Jan 1 '20, store count rose for Starbucks in China rose more than 15%. That's more than double Starbucks' global pace of growth (6.5%; graph not shown), and the shutdown of 2,000 locations in China represents more than 6% of all Starbucks' business going offline temporarily.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
