Starbucks has announced that it will begin rolling out its stores in South Africa in 2016. Starbucks is partnering with Taste Holdings to open the first store in Johannesburg in the first half of next year, with more locations to follow. South Africa’s Emperica Marketing secured the rights to sell Starbucks products in SA in 2012, but the Johannesburg location will be the first complete store in sub-Saharan Africa. “The coffee market here is vibrant and growing fast – we want to be part of that growth, bringing the passion and energy of this remarkable country into the design of our first store and our first barista team,” said Kris Engskov, President, Starbucks Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “We can’t wait to get started.” The license agreement sees Taste owning the exclusive rights to develop Starbucks retail outlets in South Africa. As Taste is the licensee, it will own and operate the stores directly. Starbucks said it is committed to Taste’s policy of giving jobs to predominantly unemployed youth from the communities in which they trade. “The majority of our workforce is aged between 17 and 25 so talented youth has always been a priority,” said Engskov. “We look forward to using our partnership to leverage Taste’s strong track record of creating jobs and developing great people.” Starbucks already operates a number of stores in Egypt and Morocco, there are currently 22,088 retail stores worldwide. South Africa will be the 67th country to introduce Starbucks.
Luckin Coffee to announce Q4 and full year 2024 results
Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee will release its fourth quarter and full year 2024 financial results before the United States...