Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, has announced that the company's Chinese stores are the most efficient and profitable following the annual profits announcement by the US coffee retail giant.

Despite the world's biggest retail chain's concern over global "headwinds," it reported a record annual profit. It made an operating income of roughly $2.4 billion, a 16 percent rise over the previous year.

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The substantial rise in Starbucks income is a result of strong performance in the Americas, where its net sales rose by 11 percent. However, the last quarter of its financial year witnessed only a four percent rise in global sales--much lower than the expected 4.9 percent predicted by analysts.

China and Asia-Pacific recorded a lucrative growth of 23 percent for the financial year prompting Mr. Schultz to laud the company's performance in China.

While Starbucks makes the lion's share of profit from its US sales, Mr. Schultz has said expansion in China will secure its future for "decades to come."

Last month, the world's biggest coffee retail chain announced plans to increase the number of its stores in China by more than double to 5,000 by 2021.

Mr. Schultz, who has been concerned about the "seismic shift in consumer traffic" that Starbucks is experiencing, noted that the popularity of online shopping is making people stay at home and away from conventional shopping streets or malls.

Starbucks' sales dropped by one percent during the fourth quarter in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, while China and Asia Pacific saw sales rise by one percent.

Starbucks operates 25,085 stores in 75 countries worldwide, with 690 new ones opened in the last quarter.

TagsStarbucks, Howard Schultz, Annual Profit, Chinese Stores, China Starbucks