Everyone in retail is quite curious about Starbucks’ interest in India. For dummies, Starbucks is the world’s largest coffee café chain, which has now entered Asian markets. So when are they planning to enter India… Infact I have some insider info that it will take a long time for them. Reason… real estate prices, of course.
The two coffee chains, Baristas and Café Coffee Day found it difficult to get good location at affordable prices. This was a few years ago when the Indian market had not yet become over heated. Then in a decent metro residential locality the cost was Rs.40 lakh, while it was Rs.50 lakh in commercial places! (2002-03) But one thing would be cheap for them in India, that is sourcing coffee!
Meanwhile as per The Global Competitiveness Report 2005-2006, released last week by the World Economic Forum, Finland remains the most competitive economy in the world. It tops the rankings for the third consecutive year, while the United States is in second position, followed by Sweden, Denmark, Taiwan and Singapore, respectively. Thankfully India has improved its ranking to 50 from 55.
An interesting point is, the Nordic countries continue to hold prominent positions in the rankings, with Finland (1), Sweden (3), Denmark (4), Iceland (7) and Norway (9). Isn’t it strange that these are the countries with the highest per capita coffee consumption, internet connection and mobile usage… so is the world moving towards doing business in a nearby café culture…
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