INVESTMENT
Starbucks looks to 400 outlets here
Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn
The Nation


Murray Darling, managing director of Starbucks Coffee (Thailand), uses a chalkboard yesterday to mark the celebration of the 200th store opening and 16th anniversary of operations in this country, at FastFac Mini Factory, Wang Noi, Ayutthaya province.

BANGKOK: -- Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee yesterday celebrated the opening of its 200th outlet in Thailand, with plans to double that figure within five years.

The new business is located at the FastFac Mini Factory in Wang Noi, Ayutthaya.

Starbucks Coffee (Thailand) managing director Murray Darling said that the company would open more than 30 new Starbucks every year over the next three to five years.

He said that Starbucks, which was approaching 20 years of operation in Thailand, was a pioneer in developing the premium coffee house market in the country. Thailand was now one of the company's top-10 markets in the world in terms of the number of coffee houses and sales.

"We are able to successfully develop the market," he said. "We provide our coffee lovers the best store experience.

"We want to be the best in class in our products, services, and store experiences. Every Starbucks store will have their own feel of uniqueness." Darling said that Starbucks serves over 1.8 million cups of coffee per month in Thailand and the company wanted double-digit growth in Thailand over the next five years.

He said the number of premium coffee houses in the Thai market had increased from some 1,000 stores five years ago to over 2,000 today. Starbucks had 150 outlets three years ago.

"In Thailand, only 30 per cent of the total population are coffee drinkers. We have seen greater potential to grow the market as well as consumption frequency," he said.

Darling said that its Thai consumers visited Starbucks four times a month on average, with loyalty customers visiting 15 times a month on average.

"Starbucks is not just only providing a premium coffee experience, but is also a place for people to connect, hang out and relax," he said.

Darling said that nearly 20 new Starbucks would be opened in the second half of the year and the company had opened its first three drive-through outlets, with another two to open this year.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Starbucks-looks-to-400-outlets-here-30238226.html


-- The Nation 2014-07-11

Quality and great tasting espresso but priced another 20% over the already exorbitant US SBX prices.

And no wi-fi service.

i look forward to the day when someone shows them how to make an Americano coffee..not just an expresso shot topped up with hot TAP water from the sink ...................

Starbucks tried to go big time in Oz but we know what good espresso tastes like as pretty much every shop that sells food sells espresso coffee. A few years after they arrived they closed up several hundred shops and left with their tail between their legs. Even McDonald's makes better coffee in Australia.

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I go in for a Starbucks every week or so, and am glad they are here. The biggest reason I like that Starbucks came to Thailand is because before them it was very hard to find a decent cup of coffee, except for in very good hotels that stocked good coffee and had espresso machines.

Once ordinary people started to see how real coffee should taste (ie not like nescafe!) they wanted more, and the birth of homegrown coffee shops began. Now, virtually anywhere in Thailand, you can find a coffee hut or shop that offers good coffee. Some still skimp on the quality of coffee used, but most are wise and have decent blends. These places are half the price of Starbucks as well.

I hear a lot of people blag on about Starbucks, but in my mind they set the bar for what a coffee shop should be and offer, and I am grateful for the way they have turned the coffee shop industry around here!

this is excellent news and exactly what Thailand needs, more coffee shops!!! Am I just a conspiracy theorist or does every Somchai and his mother seem to be laundering cash from somewhere though coffee shops? There is no actual way on earth they could possibly be making any money from them, although this may just apply to Chiang Mai and surrounding areas...... Same applies to the limitless number of resorts in the middle of nowhere, with not a prayer of ever seeing a customer.

Starbucks tried to go big time in Oz but we know what good espresso tastes like as pretty much every shop that sells food sells espresso coffee. A few years after they arrived they closed up several hundred shops and left with their tail between their legs. Even McDonald's makes better coffee in Australia.

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Agree. Starbucks is just overpriced crappy American coffee and food. The yanks have a hell of a lot to learn when it comes to making a quality cup of coffee, not at rip off prices. That is the reason they failed in Australia.

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I go in for a Starbucks every week or so, and am glad they are here. The biggest reason I like that Starbucks came to Thailand is because before them it was very hard to find a decent cup of coffee, except for in very good hotels that stocked good coffee and had espresso machines.

Once ordinary people started to see how real coffee should taste (ie not like nescafe!) they wanted more, and the birth of homegrown coffee shops began. Now, virtually anywhere in Thailand, you can find a coffee hut or shop that offers good coffee. Some still skimp on the quality of coffee used, but most are wise and have decent blends. These places are half the price of Starbucks as well.

I hear a lot of people blag on about Starbucks, but in my mind they set the bar for what a coffee shop should be and offer, and I am grateful for the way they have turned the coffee shop industry around here!

Compared to New York, Bangkok Starbucks is far superior for service and cleanliness.

Wonder how much tax they will be paying, by guess 0%

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Starbucks tried to go big time in Oz but we know what good espresso tastes like as pretty much every shop that sells food sells espresso coffee. A few years after they arrived they closed up several hundred shops and left with their tail between their legs. Even McDonald's makes better coffee in Australia.

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I am just gonna make a cup in Oz right now.

I'm not a big coffee drinker, but I admire the company for Starbucks' treatment of their staff (welfare benefits) and their attempts on good corporate responsibility - at least in the US.

Went to Starbucks once and never again. Disgusting overpriced coffee and let's not mention the price of a tiny little sandwich. Give me a good little Italian café anytime

Dreadful excuse for coffee. Starbucks is not the "premium" end of the market, it's the baked beans end of the market. Happily, far better coffee is not that hard to find in Bangkok at least.

Dreadful excuse for coffee. Starbucks is not the "premium" end of the market, it's the baked beans end of the market. Happily, far better coffee is not that hard to find in Bangkok at least.

Coffee lovers don't drink at Starbucks

I hope Costa Coffee expands more than just Bangkok much better than starbucks

400 stores? Starbucks is a perfect example of quantity having nothing to do with quality.

Free Bangkok Post and comfy seats. For the Cheap Charlies out there, you don't even

have to order anything - though I usually do.

I wish they would upgrade the sandwhich menu. Pricey and so-so.

Went to Starbucks once and never again. Disgusting overpriced coffee and let's not mention the price of a tiny little sandwich. Give me a good little Italian café anytime

And where do you find that "Good little Italian cafe here" in Bangkok?

It's not hard to beat franchise coffee (with a little help from Italy).

But, it's a tad more difficult to expand a coffee business into a multi-billion dollar, world-wide enterprise.

No limits on bad taste in Thailand.

Starbucks please dont expand here in Thailand i had your coffee once and will never buy it again.

Starbucks is crap coffee with an overinflated price tag for people who dont have a clue what good coffee tastes like, its made for Thailand.

To save time deciding where to build, each of the 200 new stores will be located across the road from an existing store.

"Starbucks is not just only providing a premium coffee experience,..."

He could get a job as a politician. Or else he went to politician's school. Either way, his level of spin and outright deceit makes one of those options probable.

400 stores? Starbucks is a perfect example of quantity having nothing to do with quality.

It's also an example of how a Western company is allowed to put small Thai businesses out of business, while individual Westerners can not work for fear of taking a job from a Thai.

Last place I would go for coffee. Their shops are only for the hi-so's to be seen.

Last place I would go for coffee. Their shops are only for the hi-so's to be seen.

Yep.

I have reduced my coffee intake over the last few years, I'm now down to one every 90 days.

400 stores? Starbucks is a perfect example of quantity having nothing to do with quality.

It's also an example of how a Western company is allowed to put small Thai businesses out of business, while individual Westerners can not work for fear of taking a job from a Thai.

Wouldn't that be true for a number of other (UK, US, Japan, etc.) companies here?

Starbucks tried to go big time in Oz but we know what good espresso tastes like as pretty much every shop that sells food sells espresso coffee. A few years after they arrived they closed up several hundred shops and left with their tail between their legs. Even McDonald's makes better coffee in Australia.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Agree. Starbucks is just overpriced crappy American coffee and food. The yanks have a hell of a lot to learn when it comes to making a quality cup of coffee, not at rip off prices. That is the reason they failed in Australia.

You have to love the name of their Thai GM

Murray Darling, managing director of Starbucks Coffee (Thailand),

The Murray Darling is the name of a muddy river system in Oz, how appropriate.

had one once never again overpriced rubbish its just people go there thinking in crowd place to be seen bullsh..t hope parsites go belly up