A company launching a presence abroad is not as easy as Starbucks stores make it look. Their localisation team goes through great pains to research culture, history, and local tastes and adapt as necessary whilst retaining the original first Starbucks store coffee experience. But how do they manage to do this so successfully time and time again?
In this article, we will figure out how Howard Schultz, as the chief executive officer, played a pivotal role in transforming Starbucks into a globally recognised coffeehouse chain, conforming to local traditions and winning hearts and minds internationally.
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How Did Starbucks Gain A Global Presence?
There are 32,000 Starbucks stores worldwide, with stores in 80 countries. In the United States alone, Starbucks operates over 14,000 company-owned licensed stores (one of which is the largest Starbucks in the world), while in China, the number of Starbucks stores has surpassed 4,000. The coffee chain also boasts a strong presence in Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, among other countries. This global expansion was achieved using Starbucks’ unwavering commitment to providing speciality coffee that either starts your day or rejuvenates it.
But whilst Starbucks coffee is a draw in and of itself, this alone would never be enough to expand as fast as it did.
Adapting To Local Tastes
The secret behind the number of Starbucks stores worldwide is its ability to adapt to local tastes and preferences through adding region-specific menu choices.
For instance:
- Japan – In Japan, Starbucks offers the delightful Sakura Blossom Cream Frappuccino, a seasonal favourite that celebrates the cherry blossom season.
- India – In India, Starbucks has embraced local flavours with a range of spiced teas and coffee drinks, including the popular Masala Chai Tea Latte.
- France – Starbucks introduced the Vienesse coffee and food line, featuring items such as red fruit cake, brioche and foie gras sandwiches.
Localising The Starbucks Store Experience
Starbucks wanted all Starbucks locations outside of the USA to reflect the unique character of each market. In China, for example, Starbucks stores often feature traditional Chinese architecture and design elements, creating a harmonious blend of modernity and tradition. This approach seeks to identify and show respect to the local populace, forming ties with local communities.
Starbucks Stores By Country
The following will be a rundown on the number of Starbucks stores per major country, as well as how these company-operated Starbucks stores managed to create a lasting foothold that rapidly adds to Starbucks’ revenue.
Starbucks has 18 design centres around the world. Each one works to understand what is considered normal, design-speaking, per country – in an attempt to blend in and create a calm, familiar atmosphere. This is what they found.
Japan Starbucks Stores
The design centres found that the Japanese building design is idiosyncratic: low roofs, traditional and often with allusions to its national religion, Shintoism. To recreate this feel, Starbucks has partnered with local designers to identify the spirit of a city. Fukuoka, in Kyushu, has a Starbucks with 2000 interlocking wood blocks, to give the impression of a forest to fit with the spirit of Shintoism: honouring nature.
Japan also has a selection of localised drinks and food. It introduced green tea ‘matcha’ (ground tea leaves) frappuccinos and cookie crumble with white pudding, possibly because Asian consumers are accustomed to beverages with solids mixed in.
Initially, Starbucks launched with American foods – which to Japanese tastes were oversized and too sweet. They’ve since begun using local bread for downsized sandwiches and reduced sweetness to match the relatively low-sugar diet that the Japanese abide by.
China Starbucks Locations
Starbucks opened its first store in China in 1999, however, it did so following a very different method than it did in Japan.
The Chinese, due to successive food scandals, were more trusting of foreign food and drink brands in 1999. This means ‘localising,’ by branding itself within China as a Chinese coffee chain, would’ve potentially harmed Starbucks’s growth in the country.
China’s position as an emerging economy has created an aspirational class (similar to the one that existed in Europe around the turn of the 19th century). The Chinese bourgeoisie seek out consumables of status – which works in Starbucks’s favour as an aspiration brand. So Starbucks bumped coffee prices up to around 4 a cup, compared to around 2.30 in the UK.
After beginning and maintaining a strong foothold, however, they decided to begin to add to the cultural-themed store count in China. In one of China’s oldest cities Xi’an, they hired famed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma to design the many-tiled, geometric exterior design for the city’s Starbucks. Additionally, the Starbucks app is widely used for mobile purchases, driving in-store sales and enhancing customer experience through technology.
However, their time in China hasn’t been without tribulations. First of all, the country’s American cafe culture was all wrong for the Chinese, who would rarely go to a cafe alone. Market research showed that they would prefer to go in groups of up to 10 people, and this would strain western coffee stores built to accommodate single drinkers and two-person groups. Chinese stores were adapted so they could accommodate these larger groups of people.
There was also the time Starbucks launched a store within the Forbidden City, which for 400 years remained ‘forbidden,’ and only recently opened up to tourists. Starbucks was originally invited there by curators at the city to open up ways the now-museum could earn money – but it didn’t sit well with Beijingren who possibly felt it rang a little too much like capitalist imperialism.
It’s akin to someone building a Starbucks in Buckingham Palace after we had lost our monarchy.
The lesson is to be aware of and respect culture and cultural sentiments.
Saudi Arabia (Middle East)
When Starbucks launched in the Middle East it was met with immediate friction.
Because of the decency laws concerning women, the topless mermaid insignia was seen as pornographic – they changed the iconic mermaid instead into a crown on waves.
Although this wasn’t technically a design choice, it mirrors its experience in the Forbidden City in China: indicating the importance of calculating accurately cultural demands. In Saudi Arabia, Starbucks controversially segregated its stores into male and ‘family’ sections for women, adhering to the local culture of Islamic societal norms.
Eventually, Starbucks began to offer a range of iced coffee products that found immense popularity within Saudi Arabia.
France And Europe
Unlike the Chinese, who see Starbucks as an aspirational brand, the French initially found Starbucks overpriced but of lower quality, compared to their own cafe culture.
It was sort of the inverse of what they looked for on the continent. Europeans were famously derisive of American excess, take-away culture and overfamiliarity (for example, giving baristas name tags was thought to be insincere and overtly American). They left Starbucks well alone, and its European stores were underperforming.
Perhaps the crucible of Europe, an early challenge for Starbucks, strengthened its conviction in the importance of localisation. In France, it introduced the ‘Viennese’ coffee (essentially, coffee or hot chocolate with cream) as well as a food line more suited to continental, as opposed to British or American, tastes: red fruit cake, brioche and foie gras sandwiches. In Britain, Starbucks has interpreted our tastes and added scones and bacon butties to the menu.
Starbucks has also refocused its energy on mirroring local styles and honouring European history. In Amsterdam, it built stores that supported local cultural scenes, for instance building a stage for poetry in a converted bank vault at Rembrandtplein (Apple have attempted something similar in London, Paris and Berlin at least: occupying Victorian buildings as well as the Louvre).
Finally, Starbucks franchises out an increasing proportion of its stores in the UK, emulating the independent coffee stores which are appreciated in the Old World. Just over 60 per cent of Starbucks stores in the UK are franchises, compared to 41 per cent in the US.
Conclusion
The strength of the Starbucks expansion comes with having a heavily researched localisation team, especially in breaking into the East Asian market where many other foreign brands, like Home Depot and Google, to local competitors.
Their main goal of having a place to relax at the start or middle of your day remained, whilst they used their incredible research team to seek out innovative methods integrated with the values of the country in question. It shows there’s more to localisation than scouring data sheets and adding green tea flavouring to beverages. Starbucks shows a keen sense of sympathy heritage and culture (for the most part), and fans abroad have spoken with their wallets.
FAQ: How do Starbucks stores promote ethics?
The company’s mission is to “inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time.” To achieve this, Starbucks has implemented a range of initiatives aimed at reducing its environmental impact, such as using renewable energy and sourcing coffee beans sustainably.
FAQ: Where was the first Starbucks store outside of the USA?
On the 1st of March, 1987, Starbucks opened its first store outside of the USA. Howard Schultz aimed to expand the company beyond Seattle into Vancouver, Canada. He envisioned creating Italian-style Cafes, collaborating with Dave Olsen and identifying Vancouver as a suitable location. Olsen oversaw the setup, interviewed applicants and installed equipment.
FAQ: What is a Starbucks Reserve Roastery?
Starbucks stores and reserve roasteries are two different brands. Whilst one offers coffee, the other offers a unique experience of immersive spaces dedicated to the journey of Coffee from bean to cup. Each Roastery features on-site roasting, interactive brewing methods and exclusive beverages/food options.
