US Starbucks Reportedly Weighing Sale of Japan Business Stake — 5ch: ‘Ditching the Cash Cow to Raise Cash’

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The story

Citing a report from US media, word spread on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyō G” (Anything-Goes Live) board that Starbucks’ US headquarters is considering selling a majority stake in its Japanese subsidiary. If it goes through, US Starbucks and Starbucks Japan would reportedly become almost entirely separate companies. Commenters speculated that the parent company might be offloading its most profitable unit to cover poor performance back home, drawing comparisons to brands like Mister Donut and Tully’s that withered in the US but thrived in Japan. Others pointed out that this is merely a “sale under consideration,” not a confirmed “withdrawal,” and opinions were split over whether the thread’s title overstated the situation.

What people said

1AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:26
No way, seriously?
3AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:28
US Starbucks considering sale of majority stake in Japan business = sources

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/96fc5fc48c162a1530aa57397e840af10bb91e5



→Selling off most of the stock — US Starbucks and Starbucks Japan would become almost totally unrelated
8AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:30
Re: #3
It's been taken down though
14AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:31
Companies that flopped in the US but survived in Japan
・Mister Donut
・Tully's
・Starbucks → New addition!
52AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:43
Re: #14
Tower Records
111AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:56
Re: #14
Also 7-Eleven
20AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:33
They probably want the cash to rebuild Starbucks back home in the US
Japan's business is strong, so it should fetch a high price
41AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:40
So they're betting foot traffic is about to drop, huh
55AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:44
Re: #41
Nah, that's not it
It's that the home business is in bad shape, so they want to sell off half of the valuable, top-earning Japan unit to raise cash
When a company's on the ropes, the first thing that sells — really the only thing that CAN sell — is whatever still holds value
Who's gonna buy the part that's doing badly?
74AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:48
Re: #55
Hard to believe they'd let go of a cash cow that just keeps printing money though
78AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:48
Re: #55
Even if they get the cash, is there any actual prospect that it fixes the home business's performance?
48AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:42
Re: #42
You're dripping period blood
61AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:46
Re: #48
Is that seriously all you've got, lol
72AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:48
Re: #61
Because a 'manko' (crude slang used here as a slur for women) is just a 'manko' — nothing more to it
76AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:48
Re: #72
Quit flaunting your flirty little exchange with the board's female regulars ('manG-min', slang for women who post here) 😡
116AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:57
Re: #72
Try working on having a decent vocabulary at least
88AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:51
Re: #78
Even to roll out a turnaround plan, what you need is money
You think banks or investors are gonna hand over cash while the home business looks this shaky?
101AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:54
Re: #88
Sure, they need cash, but it's not like they're so broke nobody would lend to them
Even with a big payout from selling the Japan business, it's pointless without an actual plan to use it to turn things around
109AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:56
Re: #101
There's also a chance they just grab the cash and fold the business
125AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:59
Re: #101
There's no way for us to actually know their real management thinking
But the fact remains they're in a position where they have to let go of the Japan unit — their single most valuable, top-earning asset
If the struggling home business weren't a real problem, there'd be no need to sell it in the first place
99AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:53
From the outside it's starting to feel like a place with a barrier to entry as high as Ramen Jiro (a ramen chain notorious for its intimidating customization "call" system) — hard to just walk into
Though come to think of it, you don't actually have to do that whole chant-like order thing everyone talks about, right?
103AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:54
Re: #99
Same with Jiro-style ramen — if ordering seems like a hassle, it kills the urge to even go
104AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:55
Re: #99
Mobile order
105AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:55
Re: #99
Honestly…👈🥺 gets the point across just fine
113AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:57
What is it with Japanese people's Starbucks devotion
Way too many act like walking around with a Starbucks cup is some kind of status symbol
It's really no different from a Tully's or Doutor cup
122AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:58
Re: #113
Isn't that the same outside Japan too?
120AnonymousSep 17, 2026 19:58
It's not a "withdrawal," it's just "considering a stock sale"
OP, this is basically the kind of thing people get arrested for spreading — you got way too carried away
128AnonymousSep 17, 2026 20:00
Re: #120
This is honestly circulating pretty seriously though

Background and Key Points of This Story

Starbucks Japan has been a wholly owned subsidiary since 2014, when US headquarters bought up all of its shares, so this story is essentially about whether that arrangement is now being unwound. The report is only at the “considering a sale” stage — as commenters noted when the article briefly vanished, no official announcement or follow-up has surfaced yet. Starbucks’ US business has seen ongoing declines in same-store sales, and selling off a profitable overseas subsidiary to raise cash isn’t a new move for a struggling company, but as the thread also questioned, that doesn’t guarantee it actually fixes the slump back home. The thread title’s phrase “decided to withdraw” goes further than what was actually reported, and it’s easy to misread that as more than just a report on a sale under consideration.

※This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyō G) thread “[Breaking] US Starbucks Decides to Withdraw From Japan.”

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