Starbucks opened its store for the first time in India .. or is it India opened its doors for the first time for Stabucks. Either way its here now and makes India the 61st country where the popular green neons are displayed. Believe it or not but first store in India comes exactly after 13 years since their operations started in China. Chowmein - 1, Haryana (India) - 0 !!
So what made Starbucks ponder over their strategy or was it pure procrastination ? Well, the Starbucks CEO, Mr. Howard Schultz believed that the tea sipping, chuski taking Indian culture will not welcome the coffee dominated brand with open arms. What he forgot that it is the same target audience which will run after anything which is on display in a branded shop sold at a premium. Second thing was finding a suitable partner to ply their trade. The main factor here was sustainability and no better 'reliance' than Tata !! Mr. Schultz definitely got this one right. Everyone needs a partner in crime. Some actors need their rich producer dads, some cricketers need their talent rich fellow cricketers and some crooked politicians need their drivers. Incredible India !!
So whats the amount of financial benefits are we talking about ? Retail consultancy Technopak Advisors predict India’s $ 230 million cafe market will swell to $ 410 million by 2017, with the number of cafes rising from 1,950 to 2,900 in the next five years. Out of that lot, this joint venture by Starbucks hopes to open 50 stores by the end of 2012. With one at Taj Mahal hotel and other in a suburban mall already waiting to hear the gunshot before the race, it looks like Starbucks will be there surely.
When we look at the possible competitors Cafe Coffee Day, which is owned by an Indian coffee conglomerate based in the southern city of Bangalore, has around 1,350 outlets and is the current market leader. A host of international players, like Gloria Jean’s, Costa Coffee and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, are already scrambling to catch up. But the biggest rivals could well be the regional and more traditional coffee makers and providers. Typical Indian mentality will always make the average foodie go for the filter kaapi than the richer cousin.
Enough of the financial benefits and the synergies for the coffe giant, its India as a whole which also enjoys a lot more and infact takes learnings as well. For the Mumbaikars, it offered new backdrops to take photos against. So one will find all teenagers removing their camera phones and tablets and going *click* *click*. Plus the You just checked in at Starbucks, Horniman circle via Foursquare is a different issue altogether. The Medusa-esque coffee mascot of Starbucks stares down at you from a wall.
Secondly, its the free services on offer. Beat the heat and sit in an air conditioned coffee house which can hold upto 120 odd people and with our 'please adjust .. fourth seat' attitude might well as add 30 odd to it.
But finally and most importantly it taught a large set of Mumbaikars the importance of discipline. It taught Mumbai how to stand in queues. Huge lines bigger than those at Sidhivinayak temple on Tuesdays were seen just for the taste of coffee and the post brag too.
Bottomline is that when it comes to Mumbai, if Starbucks even sold 'Gola wala' sherbet for a fortune, people will line up and go gung ho about it. And the author is one of them too !!
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