MUMBAI, Jan 13, 2011 – US giant Starbucks is set to make its debut in India in the next six months after signing a partnership deal with the country\’s giant conglomerate Tata, the groups said Thursday.
The first store will open some time in the middle of the year, the chairman of Tata Coffee, R.K. Krishnakumar, told the CNBC-TV18 news channel after announcing the alliance with the global caffeine powerhouse.
"Tata Coffee Ltd has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that Starbucks, the US giant coffee company, is making an entry with its famed stores into India," a statement from the company said.
Typically tea-drinking Indians are increasingly turning to coffee and upmarket cafes, which are promoted as sophisticated marks of affluence and good taste in the class-conscious nation.
Tata Coffee is a coffee bean supplier with operations spread over the different growing districts of South India.
