Starbucks open its first café in India, with more to come
Chain finally opens first café in India, serving regional beans and locally-crafted furniture
After years of delays, Starbucks will open two stores in India this week after launching its first cafe in the country last Friday.
Its first store, in Mumbai, features local design, Indian teakwood furniture and espresso drinks made from Indian-grown and roasted coffee.
As the world's most populated country after China, India represents a major opportunity for growth for many fast-food chains. Starbucks and others only recently firmed up plans to enter the market, in part because the government has eased strict rules about foreign investment.
Arriving five years after it expected to, Starbucks competes with an entrenched coffee culture, including one chain - Cafe Coffee Day - that has more than 1,000 Indian locations.
Chief Executive Howard Schultz, who was in Mumbai for the opening on Friday, said: "There certainly is a lot of coffee being sold here."
He isn't worried.
"The quality of the coffee and presentation and execution are far, far behind what we do every day," he said of the existing cafes. "Any of the stores located in India by our so-called competitors, we would never occupy or operate. These people are in a completely different business than we ever have been."