Brewing the perfect blend: Starbucks enters India

Despite its global brand, entry into the Indian market had not come easily for Starbucks, a premier roaster, marketer and retailer of specialty coffee that owned the largest coffee chain in the world. With its 300 million strong middle class, India held a huge opportunity for Starbucks, and had been...

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Main Authors: ZERRILLO, Philip C., MATHUR, Sarita, JOSHI, Havovi
Format: text
Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2013
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/52
https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/1881
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spelling sg-smu-ink.cases_coll_all-10522018-07-13T08:59:04Z Brewing the perfect blend: Starbucks enters India ZERRILLO, Philip C. MATHUR, Sarita JOSHI, Havovi Despite its global brand, entry into the Indian market had not come easily for Starbucks, a premier roaster, marketer and retailer of specialty coffee that owned the largest coffee chain in the world. With its 300 million strong middle class, India held a huge opportunity for Starbucks, and had been on the company’s business plan since 2005. It had however taken the company almost seven years to find the right partner and get permission from the Indian government to start operations. It was only in January 2012, following successful negotiations with the Tata Group, that this became possible. Starbucks entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages Limited (TGBL), under which Starbucks would own and operate outlet stores in Mumbai. The initial launch was a resounding success, yet the challenge was far from over. Starbucks’ partner, TGBL, had helped navigate its entry into the Indian market, and also had a presence through the entire production chain - growing, roasting and trading. But could Starbucks overcome the political, economic, social and cultural challenges unique to the Indian market and establish its stamp on this important market? Would it be able to do so without a local partner? This case study can be used to teach the range of factors that large, well-established multi-nationals need to consider while developing a market strategy to enter a developing market. This is also an appropriate case study to use in a class on partnerships. It can be used to explain the various business partnership models - such as joint ventures, franchises, and strategic alliances - along with their advantages and disadvantages. The assessment of strategic fit between the two partners can be used to engage the class in a discussion on finding complementary skill sets and the marriage of corporate cultures. 2013-08-01T07:00:00Z text application/pdf https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/52 https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/1881 Case Collection eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Starbucks coffee partnership models joint venture Tatas Tata Global Beverages Limited market strategy brand image positioning retail Business Administration, Management, and Operations International Business Marketing Strategic Management Policy
institution Singapore Management University
building SMU Libraries
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider SMU Libraries
collection InK@SMU
language English
topic Starbucks
coffee
partnership models
joint venture
Tatas
Tata Global Beverages Limited
market strategy
brand image
positioning
retail
Business Administration, Management, and Operations
International Business
Marketing
Strategic Management Policy
spellingShingle Starbucks
coffee
partnership models
joint venture
Tatas
Tata Global Beverages Limited
market strategy
brand image
positioning
retail
Business Administration, Management, and Operations
International Business
Marketing
Strategic Management Policy
ZERRILLO, Philip C.
MATHUR, Sarita
JOSHI, Havovi
Brewing the perfect blend: Starbucks enters India
description Despite its global brand, entry into the Indian market had not come easily for Starbucks, a premier roaster, marketer and retailer of specialty coffee that owned the largest coffee chain in the world. With its 300 million strong middle class, India held a huge opportunity for Starbucks, and had been on the company’s business plan since 2005. It had however taken the company almost seven years to find the right partner and get permission from the Indian government to start operations. It was only in January 2012, following successful negotiations with the Tata Group, that this became possible. Starbucks entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages Limited (TGBL), under which Starbucks would own and operate outlet stores in Mumbai. The initial launch was a resounding success, yet the challenge was far from over. Starbucks’ partner, TGBL, had helped navigate its entry into the Indian market, and also had a presence through the entire production chain - growing, roasting and trading. But could Starbucks overcome the political, economic, social and cultural challenges unique to the Indian market and establish its stamp on this important market? Would it be able to do so without a local partner? This case study can be used to teach the range of factors that large, well-established multi-nationals need to consider while developing a market strategy to enter a developing market. This is also an appropriate case study to use in a class on partnerships. It can be used to explain the various business partnership models - such as joint ventures, franchises, and strategic alliances - along with their advantages and disadvantages. The assessment of strategic fit between the two partners can be used to engage the class in a discussion on finding complementary skill sets and the marriage of corporate cultures.
format text
author ZERRILLO, Philip C.
MATHUR, Sarita
JOSHI, Havovi
author_facet ZERRILLO, Philip C.
MATHUR, Sarita
JOSHI, Havovi
author_sort ZERRILLO, Philip C.
title Brewing the perfect blend: Starbucks enters India
title_short Brewing the perfect blend: Starbucks enters India
title_full Brewing the perfect blend: Starbucks enters India
title_fullStr Brewing the perfect blend: Starbucks enters India
title_full_unstemmed Brewing the perfect blend: Starbucks enters India
title_sort brewing the perfect blend: starbucks enters india
publisher Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
publishDate 2013
url https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/52
https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/1881
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