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Starbucks profit, sales rise, boosted by Asian demand

Scott Le Duc

Starbucks says profit in its most recent quarter climbed 13 percent as the coffee giant benefits from a big push into Asia.

Starbucks now has 100 stores in Beijing alone, and plans to open about 300 more in China this year.

R.J. Hottovy is an analyst with Morningstar. He says even though China’s economy may be slowing, the country's rising middle class is a boon to Starbucks.

"As we’re finding more and more discretionary income among the middle to upper income consumer, Starbucks is becoming a destination for the Chinese consumer," Hottovy said.

He says the company has done a good job of introducing coffee to a traditionally tea-drinking culture by making its cafes appealing gathering spots. He says Starbucks has also managed to weather a rocky economy in the U.S.

In July 2017, Ashley Gross became KNKX's youth and education reporter after years of covering the business and labor beat. She joined the station in May 2012 and previously worked five years at WBEZ in Chicago, where she reported on business and the economy. Her work telling the human side of the mortgage crisis garnered awards from the Illinois Associated Press and the Chicago Headline Club. She's also reported for the Alaska Public Radio Network in Anchorage and for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.