Tata Starbucks Private Ltd., the equal joint venture of Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Global Beverages Ltd., is eyeing an entry into tier-II towns, a senior official said.
On marking a pan Indian presence, he said that the strategy now was to go deep in the existing markets before expanding further.
Opens store
“Yes, we are evaluating the possibility of tapping the potential of tier-II towns,” Sumitro Ghosh, CEO, Tata Starbucks Private Ltd., told The Hindu after opening the first store in the city. Starbucks entered the Indian market in October 2012 and currently operates 113 stores.
These are in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and now Kolkata. The biggest presence is in Delhi and Mumbai, where the venture “is very successful,” according to Mr. Ghosh.
The JV has on its rolls 1,700 employees, which will be “increased to 3,000 within five years,” Mr. Ghosh said.
He was appointed CEO of Tata Starbucks in January 2016.
Tata Starbucks, which opened three stores simultaneously here, would not mark its presence in supermarkets, Mr. Ghosh said, adding that for now, it would prefer to set up its own chain of shops.
“We will also recognise local cultures like we did in Kolkata by launching two new desserts using the regions signature (sweet) ingredient chena (casein). On offer is a chomchom tiramisu and a rosomalai mousse,” he said in response to a query. This is the first time that the company has unveiled such a regional culinary innovation.
Mr. Ghosh said that the Indian JV exported small lots of coffee to Starbucks and “will continue to explore new coffees for similar exports.” The 2016-17 loss was ₹16.13 crore. Mr. Ghosh indicated improved profitability saying that the company “was not in the business to not make money.”
To a question whether Tata Starbucks has had any learnings in India, he said that India was a diverse market where the company “has adjusted its strategies as and when required”. According to the 2016-17 annual report of TGB, Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd. reported a lower operating loss during the year reporting increased revenues attributable to improved in-store performance, cost and productivity initiatives, coupled with benefits of additional stores opened during 2016-17. The stores opened today[Tuesday] would also sell merchandise. The 2016-17 loss was ₹16.13 crore. Mr. Ghosh indicated improved profitability saying that the company “was not in the business to not make money”.
