The operation of Starbucks in Vietnam will be transferred as Hong Kong-based DFI Retail Group prepares to acquire over 1,100 Starbucks outlets located in seven Asian countries, Vietnam among them, from Maxim’s Caterers. This move is linked to a broader reorganisation inside the Jardine Matheson Group network.
According to the deal, DFI will return its 50% share in Maxim’s to the latter. In exchange, Maxim’s will remit US$340 million in cash to DFI and surrender authority over its licensed Starbucks business across the seven territories. Completion of the transaction is targeted for the close of March 2027.
Through this arrangement, DFI will directly oversee upwards of 1,100 Starbucks locations throughout Asia. The company forecasts that its Starbucks segment will produce roughly $600-650 million in sales between April and December 2027, and anticipates full-year 2028 revenue near $900 million.
The retailer plans to boost the number of Starbucks outlets to a minimum of 1,350 and projects an annual revenue compound growth of about 6-7% from 2026 through 2029. It asserts that the coffee market in Asia retains substantial expansion opportunities, especially in developing nations where average consumption per person lags behind that of other areas.
Once the operations are assumed, DFI intends to create additional food and drink offerings suited to regional preferences and to broaden its outlet footprint in fast-growing Southeast Asian countries. At present, DFI runs over 5,600 outlets spanning supermarkets, convenience shops, home-furnishing stores and restaurants, and oversees franchise brands such as 7-Eleven and IKEA.
The handover of the Vietnamese business together with six additional Asian markets coincides with Starbucks implementing significant changes worldwide. In China, the coffee chain has recently divested a controlling interest in its operations to the private-equity house Boyu Capital. In North America, it is shutting a number of locations to enhance operational efficiency.
Nikkei Asia reports that DFI intends to collaborate with Starbucks to speed up the chain’s growth within the territories it will acquire. In Vietnam, the brand has added locations swiftly, rising from 103 stores at the close of 2023 to 150 by early 2026. This year it has kept launching new sites, such as a shop perched on Fansipan Mountain in north-west Vietnam and its inaugural Signing Store in Ho Chi Minh City, which is staffed by deaf and hard-of-hearing employees.