Starbucks to launch store in India by December 2012

20 January 2012: Starbucks, the coffee shop chain, will open its first outlet in India later this year in tie-up with Tata Coffee. The two companies will form an alliance for this by the end of January 2012.

The Starbucks has an agreement to source coffee beans from Tata Coffee. Cafe Coffee Day, India's largest cafe chain, said the entry of Starbucks will help expand the overall coffee retail market, which is still in a nascent stage. Besides Cafe Coffee Chain, the US retailer will face competition from Barista Lavazza and Costa Coffee, among others. Starbucks serves coffee, baked products and other food items at over 17,000 retail stores in more than 55 countries.

Source: Economic Times