In India, the US-headquartered coffee brand operates through an equal joint venture with Tata Consumer Products, under ‘Tata Starbucks Pvt Ltd’.
Out of its total loss, half or Rs 40.91 crore was borne by Tata Consumer Products, it said in its latest annual report.
A year ago, it had reported a loss of Rs 24.97 crore on sales of Rs 1086.89 crore.
“The year witnessed demand softness in the overall QSR (Quick Service Restaurant) space consequently our same stores sales growth was subdued,” the company said in its annual report.The report added, “Profitability remained muted due to demand softness in the overall QSR space.”In this year, 95 new Starbucks stores opened, surpassing their highest number of expansion of 71 last year. The company expanded into 20 new cities, which also included tier 2 cities. In total, the coffee brand now has 421 stores across 61 cities in India.In FY23, Tata Starbucks crossed the Rs 1000 crore mark for sales for the first time since it entered the Indian market in 2012.
“FY 2023-24 has been a milestone year for Tata Consumer Products in many aspects. The success of our innovation strategy is reflected in the 5X growth in innovation revenue in the India business over the past three years,” N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Consumer Products said in an address to shareholders in the company’s annual report for 2023-24.
Starbucks aims to open 1000 stores by 2028 in India. CEO Laxman Narasimhan told ET in January this year that Starbucks will open a new café every third day in India to meet this target.
Newer entries like Pret a Manger, Tim Hortons, and Third Wave Coffee are also increasing their stores in the Indian market.
The British coffee and sandwich chain Pret a Manger, in a franchise agreement with Reliance Brands, has 11 stores in India so far. It aims to launch up to 100 outlets over the next five years.
The Canadian coffee chain, Tim Hortons, has planned to set up more than 100 stores in the next three years. Third Wave Coffee has already crossed the 100-store mark.
