Okay, maybe "invade" is a bit of an exaggeration. Starbucks hasn't done anything in India yet, but a recent AFP report indicates that they're planning a foray into this great tea-drinking nation by the end of 2007. As you may recall, we recently wrote about Starbucks' activities in another nation of tea lovers - the United Kingdom.
According to the AFP report, Indians currently consume ten times as much tea as coffee. In China, where Starbucks has also gotten a foothold, the chain currently operates nearly 200 outlets. Of course, keeping in mind that China has more than a billion inhabitants helps to put a number like that in perspective.
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It will be interesting to see how they do. India has some rather ubiquitous "Starbucks-esque" incumbents - namely Barista Coffee, Cafe Coffee Day and Coffee Pai (to name a few) that have ostensibly followed the Starbucks model and are popping up everywhere.
ReplyDeleteWill the Starbucks mega-brand be the secret sauce? It'll be fun to watch how it all pans out.