Starbucks hits 150-store milestone in Vietnam

The milestone store is located on Quang Trung Street in Thong Tay Hoi Ward, or former Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City.

The Quang Trung store introduces a Deaf Partner model, employing hearing-impaired staff to serve customers.

“At our 150th store on Quang Trung Street, Starbucks is introducing a model with deaf partners, where connections are built through smiles, eye contact, and dedication, reflecting our belief that a beautiful community is created through empathy and equality,” Starbucks Vietnam stated on its Facebook page.

Starbucks Vietnam has recently accelerated the pace of store openings in the country of over 100 million people.

As of May 2024, the chain had only 108 stores in Vietnam.

Although Starbucks has fewer locations than many other competitors, it has impressed with its willingness to invest in prime real estate in central and high-end areas of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

In April last year, Starbucks Vietnam reopened a premium Starbucks Reserve store at the iconic Bitexco Tower in Ho Chi Minh City, after having previously closed a Reserve store on Han Thuyen Street.

The two-story, 250-square-meter store reportedly costs up to VND1.9 billion (US$72,190) per month in rent.

In July 2025, the chain opened another Starbucks Reserve at Diamond Plaza shopping mall in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, where beverage prices can exceed VND200,000 ($7.6) per item.

Targeting Gen Z customers, who were born in the late 1990s to early 2000s, Starbucks Vietnam also started running a store at Van Lang University in Binh Loi Trung Ward, Ho Chi Minh City at the end of December 2025.

Coffee chains see growth amid market contraction

According to the Vietnam F&B Market Report for the first half of 2025 by iPOS.vn and Nestlé Vietnam, 50,000 food and beverage outlets ceased operations during this period.

Despite this, coffee chains in the mid-to-high-end segment continued to expand.

As of the end of September 2025, Highlands Coffee had been operating 928 stores, while Phuc Long and Katinat had been running nearly 200 and 114, respectively.

These chains added tens of new outlets in just nine months.

In January last year, Highlands Coffee had 815 stores, Phuc Long over 167, Starbucks 125, Trung Nguyen Legend 106, and Katinat 93.

Competition remained intense, with several chains closing or downsizing.

Among foreign chains, Thailand’s Café Amazon failed to compete effectively in Vietnam.

In 2025, it closed its last store and exited the market after five years.

Meanwhile, The Coffee House was acquired by Golden Gate Group and now operates just over 90 stores nationwide, a sharp decline from nearly 180 stores at its peak.