US Edition 
Starbucks sets sights on India after teaming up with Tata
Coffee giant Starbucks has teamed up with Indian company Tata and is looking to open stores in the country.
As part of the accord, Tata, majority-owned by Tata Global Beverages - a unit of India’s second-biggest industrial group - will supply coffee beans to the Seattle-based firm.
R K Krishnakumar, chairman of Tata, said he expected stores to open rapidly. “They have a very aggressive strategy, and within six months you should be able to have a Starbucks coffee in Mumbai that will be exactly like the one you would have in New York or Paris,” he said.
Starbucks is looking to branch out into international markets and last week revamped its famous sea siren logo in preparation.
Chief executive Howard Schultz plans to open 400 outlets outside the US this year. Starbucks operates more than 16,800 stores in more than 50 countries, with about one-fifth of its sales coming from non-US sites.
Mr Schultz said: “We believe India can be an important source for coffee in the domestic market, as well as across the many regions globally where Starbucks has operations.”
Starbucks is also focusing on growth in Russia, where it operates around 50 stores, and Brazil, where it took full control last year of around 20 stores previously run by a joint venture partner.
It said in November last year that it plans to triple the number of stores it operates in China, where it has set up more than 400 stores since entering the market in 1998.
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