The Hindu Business Line : Barista to set up 60 outlets in 12 months

BARISTA Coffee Company Ltd, the coffee retailing company in which the Sterling Group has a majority stake, plans to scale up operations with 60 new outlets in the next 10 to12 months.

Mr Brotin Banerjee, Head, Marketing and Strategy, said the new Barista stores would sport a totally young and vibrant look. There will be a higher concentration of stores in the southern market.

On August 28, the company will open two new outlets in Chennai. They will be next to the Sterling Group's speciality restaurant, Aiwo.

The investment in each store, depending on the area, will be between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 20 lakh. Barista will take the franchisee route for expansion, but some stores will continue to be company-owned, said Mr Banerjee.

All the new outlets will be wi-fi enabled to give customers free Internet access, Mr Banerjee said.

Barista has four retail formats - the espresso café, which is the largest with about 1000 sq. ft; the store-in-store at about 200 square feet; kiosks at airports and malls; and outlets in corporate environments.

The company has tied up with the Delhi-based Corner Book Store, and will set up a bookstall at some of its stores. Mr Banerjee added that each store would have about 400 tracks of music.

Barista serves Arabica coffee, which is sourced from Tata Coffee's plantations in Karnataka. The international coffees such as Colombia Supremo, Cuba Caracolillo Crystal Mountain, Brazil Santos and Jamaica Blue Mountain are sourced from the respective estates and roasted at the Barista Coffee's captive roastery in Venice.

The Chennai-based Sterling Group, owned by Mr C. Sivasankaran, acquired 63 per cent stake in Barista in April. Tata Coffee holds the remaining stake.