Starbucks - India Mumbai

Starbucks inaugurated its first store in India in OCT 2012 in a historic building in southern Mumbai as the Seattle-based coffee giant seeks growth in a market long associated with tea drinkers.

The flagship, which can accommodate 120 people, is a cool, soaring space, with hand-carved wooden screens, thick tables of solid Indian teak, painted vintage trunks and old leather-bound books.

The 42 menu items reflect local as well as Western tastes, featuring items such as Elaichi Mawa croissants — made with cardamom and milk solids — and tandoori paneer rolls.

The prices position Starbucks at the premium end of India’s coffee cafes, with a 12 ounce cappuccino retailing for a little over $2.

After over six years of studying the local market in INDIA, Starbucks is making a rapid-fire entry into Asia's third-largest economy. Coffee houses are still a relatively new trend in India, and the chains already in business sell cappuccinos and lattes well below Starbucks' usual prices.

The company (a 50-50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages called Tata Starbucks Ltd. )won’t comment on expansion targets, but Schultz pointed to Starbucks’ presence in other markets as examples of the scale he is interested in. There are more than 700 outlets in mainland China, he said, and 1,000 in Japan. While those numbers are dwarfed by the over 10,000 outlets in the United States, Asia has emerged as a key driver of growth.

"It is perhaps the most elegant, beautiful, dynamic store we've opened in our history,"
‘‘Asia and the entire Pacific Rim present one of the most significant growth opportunities within Starbucks Coffee Company,’’ Schultz said. ‘‘India is at the core, along with China.’’

Chief executive Howard Schultz said in an interview.

Reference Link:
http://www.starbucks.in/

Remarks:
Leading Local Brand in India : "Cafe Coffee Day"
Existing Brand : " Costa Coffee " & "Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf "