The world largest chain of coffee shops ” Starbucks” is now opening it`s shops in Colombia. The CEO Howard Schultz has recognized Colombia`s potential. He said that they are not competing with Colombia`s leading coffee brand “Juan Valdez”. The opening of the 3 Starbucks stores took place in the Park 93 in Colombias capital Bogota on the 17th of July 2014
He points out that they`ll both have success in their own ways and that they`ll be looking to increase growth in the market and open a coffee culture to new clients.
The recent business plan is to open 50 stores in the Colombian capital over the next five years, the equivalent of 10 per year until 2018, creating 1000 formal jobs in the region. In total the company has more than 20 000 stores in 65 different countries.
Besides that Starbucks will look into expanding perhaps into the cities of Cartagena on the northern coast and in Medellin, Colombia’s second largest city.
Starbucks is opening it`s stores in Bogota in coorperation with two Latin American compainies: Alsea. This company is running about 520 Starbucks stores in Mexico, Argentina and Chile and the Colombian food company Grupo Nutresa.
” Colombia is entering the globalized world while foreign brands like Starbucks are arriving to expand their business. Now it`s our turn to conservate one of our most valueable products: The colombian coffee.” said Diana Zuluaga of the “5Bogota” tourism agency.
“We at Café San Alberto are pleased with the arrival of Starbucks as this will generate a greater interest in the world of coffee and in our national drink,” said Juan Pablo Villota, Director of the Hacienda San Alberto located in the heart of Colombia’s coffee growing region. “Colombian coffee is worthy of special attention and this will show that there are further sophisticated options for the discerning coffee drinker.”
They are going to sale Colombians the same coffee which is grown in Colombia just 8 times more expensive.
