Starbucks Asia-Pacific chief John Culver has said that his company is going to continue making investments in India as business in the country is strong and has exceeded expectations.
“We are very excited about the way in which the Indian consumers embraced Starbucks. Overall the business here in India is very strong and it exceeded our expectations as a company,” Culver told journalists after a meeting with Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma.
Starbucks has entered India in a 50:50 partnership with the Tata Group. It opened its first store in the country in October 2012 and now has about 30 stores spread across cities. It will open another store in Bangalore on Friday.
Replying to a question on the effect of the global slowdown on Starbucks’ growth plans, Culver said the company continues to have strong business across the world and has long-term growth plans for India in particular.
“We will continue to make investments and work on our long-term growth. We are working here in India for the long-term and we will continue to make the right investments in business here,” Culver said. Starbucks operates in 62 countries and has over 19,000 stores around the world.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz in a recent essay written for the book ‘Reimagining India: Unlocking The Potential of Asia?s Next Superpower’ edited by consulting firm McKinsey has outlined ambitious plans for India.
“Our plan over time is that the number of our stores in India will rival the size and scale of what we have planned for China — thousands of stores,’’ he said.