BANGALORE – Tata Starbucks on Monday opened two more Starbucks outlets in Bangalore, the capital city of the Indian state of Karnataka, taking its total number of outlets to three. The first opened two months ago. Bangalore has special significance for the chain since it is the nerve centre of Cafe Coffee Day, the rival retail coffee chain with around 1500 outlets across the country.
Karnataka is India’s biggest coffee producer accounting for about 70% of the annual output.
The new stores have come up at Phoenix Market City, Whitefield and Briade Orion Mall. The company says the stores have been designed to bring to life Bangalore’s rich coffee heritage and provide an unparalleled coffee house experience.
“Since the launch of our first store in Bangalore in November 2013, our experience has been nothing short of extraordinary. We are humbled by the response we have received from our customers”‘ Avani Davda, CEO at Tata Starbucks, said in a statement.
Tata Starbucks, the joint venture between the Starbucks Coffee Co and Tata Global Beverages, with both holding equal stake, entered the Indian market in October 2012. It currently operates 34 stores in India across Mumbai, Delhi and the national capital region, Pune and Bangalore.
Its competitors, apart from Café Coffee Day, are Barista with about 180 outlets and Costa Coffee with some 126 outlets, besides a host of small but premium players.
Source: [via]
