Venti with whip vanilla chai lattes: Starbucks in India

Wed, 02/01/2012 - 13:33 — Anonymous by Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor Starbucks
is due to open its first store in India through a 50-50 joint venture with
Tata Global Beverages. The first branches will open in Mumbai and New Delhi
in September and about 50 stores will follow within the first 12 months. John
Culver, Starbucks president for China and Asia Pacific, said there could be
as many as 3,000 Starbucks stores in the world's fastest-growing economy
after China. China currently has about 500. Starbucks declined to comment on
the pricing at its future Indian stores. The price of a cup of coffee ranges
widely in India, where consumers can spend Rs 53 rupees on a cappuccino at a
local chain or Rs 400 on a frappé at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, an
international chain that already has a presence in India.  Starbucks arrives
at a time when the Indian government is trying to attract more foreign retail
investment, but is slow at loosening restrictions. Strict limits on foreign
ownership in India in the past have kept many international brands from
setting up shop, including Ikea and Walmart. The latter met with stringent
conditions on a recent deal while the Walmart negotiations have been put off
altogether.read more