By Richard McColl
BOGOTA, Colombia
Starbucks, the world’s largest chain of coffee shops, opened their flagship and inaugural store on Wednesday in the Colombian capital of Bogota with Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz in attendance.
Since Starbucks announced that they would be targeting Colombia in August 2013 as their 62nd global market, there has been a great deal of debate regarding how this may affect national coffee chains such as Juan Valdez and OMA.
“We are not competing with Juan Valdez,” said Howard Schultz in a press conference at the opening of the three story coffee shop located in Bogota’s trendy Parque 93 district.
“We will both have success in our own ways. We will look to increase growth in the market and open a coffee culture to new clients,” he said.
The business plan, as outlined by Starbucks’ President for the Americas Cliff Burrows – also in Bogota for this occasion – is to open 50 stores in the Colombian capital over the next five years, the equivalent of 10 per year until 2018, creating 1000 formal jobs in the region.
He added that Starbucks will look into expanding perhaps into the cities of Cartagena on the northern coast and in Medellin, Colombia's second largest city.
Feelings are mixed on the arrival of the Seattle-based multinational company between deluxe coffee producers and those working in the tourism industry promoting Colombia’s national drink. The world acclaimed Colombian coffee boasts over 900,000 cultivated hectares and supports an estimated 500,000 families nationwide.
“As Colombia enters the globalized world, foreign brands like Starbucks are arriving in spite of the contradiction they present to the local culture. These economically driven arguments do not take into account the social implications which impinge upon our identity. Now it’s the turn of one of our most visible icons: coffee,” said Diana Zuluaga of 5Bogota - a locally run progressive tourism agency which includes coffee tasting tours in their portfolio of services.
It remains to be seen what exactly may happen regarding Starbucks’ entry into the Colombian market and what the outcome may be, but not all outlooks are negative.
“We at Café San Alberto are pleased with the arrival of Starbucks as this will generate a greater interest in the world of coffee and in our national drink,” said Juan Pablo Villota, Director of the Hacienda San Alberto located in the heart of Colombia’s coffee growing region. “Colombian coffee is worthy of special attention and this will show that there are further sophisticated options for the discerning coffee drinker.”
