Starbuck

The main Starbuck’s vision in the Indian market is to educate customers about its brand and the experience by building flagship stores in the locations where customers demand. Moreover, the ultimate goal of Starbuck is to generate repeat, loyal customers by creating emotional attachment. From my perspective, I am convinced that the Starbuck’s vision is right for two obvious reasons.

To begin with, according to beverage consumption in India in 2011, Indians consumed 10 times more tea than coffee. However, coffee has been increasingly consumed; therefore, there was scope for coffee market growth in India. In order to change from the tea-consuming culture to the coffee-consuming culture in India, Starbuck started educating its customers about coffee as it had been successful doing so in the China market. In parallel, with Indians’ curiosity, people tended to experience a new brand entering the country. As a result, Starbuck was able to attract customers and changed the way people drank, creating emotional attachment with customers. These examples aptly support my point that Starbuck’s vision to educate customers about its brand and its experience is correct.

In addition, building brand awareness, Starbuck attempted to construct flagship stores where customers’ demands were high. Through joint venture with Tata Group, India’s largest business conglomerate, Starbuck had access to premium real estate where demands were high. Consequently, it can draw customers’ attention to its business. Furthermore, as Starbuck did not do advertisement, it depended on word of mouth, which was very successful. Hence, joining Tata group could enable Starbuck achieve its vision.