Starbucks South Africa subsidiary owner, Taste Holdings, is focusing on delivering a \u201cquality\u201d Starbucks experience and is in not going to add any \u201cpressure\u201d on itself to churn out more Starbucks stores for the time being.<\/p>\n
This is according to Taste Holdings CEO Carlo Gonzaga, who was speaking at the recent FNB Franchise Summit held at Montecasino. He shared on the progress of the two Starbucks outlets, in Rosebank and Midrand, since being launched in April 2016.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe path to breakeven in Starbucks is not far off. We need four or five stores to get to breakeven,\u201d he said. There are unofficially three Starbucks stores in South Africa. The third is the canteen at Taste Holdings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the most expensive canteen in the world,\u201d quipped Gonzaga. The canteen was built to incorporate the Starbucks culture in the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about establishing a cultural fit,\u201d said Gonzaga. Taste Holdings \u201ccourted\u201d the coffee company for two years before obtaining the licence. \u201cYou need to have a cultural fit, it\u2019s the only way to have a share of value that is sustainable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Africans are net beneficiaries from bringing in international brands like Starbucks and Domino\u2019s Pizza,\u201d said Gonzaga. He explained that South African companies benefit from the exchange of knowledge and training. For example, Gonzaga said his team worked with designers from Starbucks and were exposed to training they otherwise would not have been.<\/p>\n
No ice in Winter<\/strong><\/p>\n Since launching, one of the challenges was keeping up with demand for the frappuccinos. Both the Rosebank and Midrand stores ran out of ice in Winter, so to speak. Gonzaga explained that during the school holidays the demand for frappuccinos was so high that that the machine, with a capacity of 400kg of ice, was \u201cflattened\u201d.<\/p>\n Starbucks South Africa has been getting advice from stores in Miami, where the demands for ice drinks are just as high.<\/p>\n Taste Holdings also had to deal with a downturn in its share price earlier in the year. \u201cWe had to choose to deny the opportunity to give shareholders the benefit of the work put in, or to stay listed and deal with the pain,\u201d said Gonzaga. \u201cWe are certainly dealing with it, the share price fell materially.\u201d<\/p>\n Gonzaga said the decision to stay listed was not made based on the short term. He explained that starting a business takes time. He made reference to Scooters Pizza which took six years before it started showing profit.<\/p>\n News24<\/a><\/p>\n Starbucks is coming to Pretoria<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Get ready for Starbucks drive-throughs in South Africa<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n SA coffee market \u2018larger than we thought\u2019: Starbucks CEO<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on Starbucks<\/h3>\n