Starbucks and Alibaba recently announced that they will form a strategic partnership to build a new retail model targeting the Chinese market, the Tech News reported on August 3. With 3 million delivery riders, Alibaba's food delivery arm, Ele.me, will start delivery service for Starbucks' 150 stores located in Beijing and Shanghai around mid-September that boasts to deliver within 30 minutes. By the end of 2018, Ele.me aims to cover more than 2,000 Starbucks stores in 30 major Chinese cities. In addition, Starbucks will also establish Starbucks Delivery Kitchens in selected Hema supermarkets, initially in Shanghai and Hangzhou, around September 2018. Other than Starbucks' own app service, Chinese Starbucks' customers can enjoy a one-stop and personalized consumer experience on multiple platforms such as Ele.me, Tmall, Hema, Taobao and Alipay.