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Tag: starbucks

  • Starbucks Malaysia earns employer accolade

    Starbucks Malaysia earns employer accolade

    Starbucks Malaysia has earned top honors for its employment practices at the Aon Hewitt Best Employers of 2015 Awards.

    The Best of the Best award was presented to Starbucks Malaysia at the Awards Presentation and Learning Conference in Kuala Lumpur.

    The Aon Hewitt Best Employers Award is one of the most prestigious awards recognising companies with strong employee engagement, high-performance culture, effective leadership and a compelling brand. Aon Hewitt’s research is conducted over nine months and is active in a dozen Asia Pacific markets, including China, Japan, Australia, and Malaysia. The Malaysian survey was completed in partnership with TalentCorp Malaysia.

    Sydney Quays, MD of Starbucks Malaysia and Brunei, called the honor “one of the most significant recognitions that a company could get in validation to its human resources practices and talent management initiatives”.

    “We’re known for our coffee, but our people make us famous,” Quays added.

    A substantial part of Starbucks recognition was related to the company’s efforts to retain, engage and motivate partners.

    “Retention starts from hiring the right talent,” said June Beh, partner resources and compliance director for Starbucks Malaysia and Brunei.

    “We also highly invest in the training of every partner (employee) empowering them with the necessary skills and knowledge.”

    Starbucks store manager Desmond Soon was given the opportunity last year to lead a district for the company. “This allowed me to create a lasting connection with the community, to be involved in company programs, and to share our amazing stories with customers,” Soon said.

    Starbucks Malaysia opened in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and today has more than 190 stores across the country.

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  • Starbucks Indonesia to double network

    Starbucks Indonesia to double network

    Starbucks Indonesia plans to double its current 200-strong store network within five years.

    In an interview with Indonesia Real Time, Starbucks Indonesia COO Anthony Cottan says demand is growing for the American-based global coffee giant’s products – and so, too, is Indonesia’s middle class.

    Starbucks made its Indonesian debut in 2002, opening its first store in the luxury Jakarta mall Plaza Indonesia. It now has cafes in 13 of the nation’s larger cities, located in shopping centres, airports, hospitals and motorway laybys.

    Cottan said the company plans to introduce bubble tea in June in a trial in several stores and is planning its first ‘Community store’, which, like those in markets like Thailand and Korea, will return a share of profits to community causes.

    He said it was great that Indonesians are adopting more of a coffee cultures.

    “More people are doing it and taking a deeper level of interest. I love all these independent coffee shops; they have great coffee. They roast it fresh, using Indonesian beans most of the time.”

    Starbucks Indonesia is trying to make its global culture relevant to the Indonesian market, Cottan said.

    “We try to make each [cafe] relevant to its neighborhood. The [outlet] in Grand Indonesia Mall has a very Batavia feel about it. The one we have in Stasiun Kota (in central Jakarta)… has an industrial look. So just because we’re a big company doesn’t mean that we can’t build with some consciousness and some connection to heritage. That makes it more exciting,” he told Indonesia Real Time.

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  • Starbucks who? The other java king named Schultz

    Starbucks who? The other java king named Schultz

    When I first entered the coffee industry in 2002, it was one dominated by Starbucks. Not much has changed.

    However, when a consumer industry is dominated by one player, I look at that as an opportunity. Consumers will always want choice, whether that is in the US, Japan, China or, to be honest, anywhere in the world. Starbucks created an industry that did not exist 25 years ago, but it is impossible for a company to be all things to all people, no matter how dominant.

    Over the past five years, Honolulu Coffee has grown from six stores in Hawaii to 32 stores in Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai, Guam and Hawaii, with another 10 to 15 stores scheduled to open this year.

    Our growth is attributable to three factors: 1) well-developed points of differentiation, 2) efficient use of capital and 3) continual focus on quality over competing for the lowest price point.

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  • Starbucks China expands in grocery

    Starbucks China expands in grocery

    US coffee retailer Starbucks has signed a joint venture in China to manufacture and distribute ready-to-drink beverages in the grocery channel.

    Starbucks China chose listed Chinese drinks company Tingyi Holding Corp, which trades as Master Kong, to make and sell the drinks in supermarkets and convenience stores.

    Starbucks will be responsible for providing coffee expertise, brand development and future product innovation, and Tingyi will manufacture and sell Starbucks RTD portfolio in China.

    China is already Starbucks’ fastest growing market worldwide with the chain already operating more than 1500 cafes in 90 cities. Now it wants to use its brand strength to gain its share of the coffee-on-the-go and home-consumption markets.

    The RTD coffee and energy category is a $6 billion business, and is projected to grow by 20% over the next three years, according to Euromonitor data.

    In a statement, Starbucks said the agreement leverages the respective strengths of Starbucks and Tingyi to bring the entire Starbucks RTD portfolio to customers in China as well as the ability to innovate specifically for the China market.

    Tingyi is a leading Chinese food and beverage producer which, after more than 20 years of development, boasts world-leading production facilities and management expertise with a broad spectrum of quality channel resources. Tingyi’s local manufacturing, sales and distribution expertise combined with Starbucks strong brand recognition and coffee expertise will unlock new market opportunities.

    “We are pleased to work with Tingyi, a leader in China’s RTD beverage category, to unlock the massive ready-to-drink market and grow local demand for Starbucks,” said John Culver, group president, Starbucks Coffee China and Asia Pacific, channel development and emerging brands.

    “Our agreement enables us to develop new categories and occasions to delight our customers and connect people outside of our stores to Starbucks where they live, work and play.”

    James Wei, CEO of Tingyi Holding Corp, said the China RTD market has a huge growth potential.

    “The agreement with Starbucks will further expand Tingyi’s beverage product portfolio and enables us to provide consumers with more high-quality and convenient product options and experiences. As part of this cooperation, Tingyi will leverage its strength in production and distribution to increase the market share of Starbucks’ RTD products in the Chinese market.”

    Today, customers in China can purchase Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino beverages in nearly 6000 locations including select Starbucks retail stores, grocery and convenience stores throughout mainland China. Through this agreement, Starbucks and Tingyi plan to bring new and existing Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino in the marketplace during 2016, which will be followed by innovation and an increased number of locations and cities for consumers to purchase Starbucks RTD products.

  • Starbucks stores roll out Lunar New Year merchandise across Asia

    Starbucks stores roll out Lunar New Year merchandise across Asia

    Starbucks stores has unveiled new card designs, mugs, tumblers and other merchandise in Asian markets in time for the celebration of the Lunar New Year.

    As one of the world’s grandest and most significant cultural celebrations, the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is a time to sweep out the old and bring in the new with family gatherings, celebrations and the exchanging of gifts.

    Starbucks senior designer Victor Melendez created the design for the 2015 Starbucks Lunar New Year Card, available in dozens of countries around the world. His design, crafted using a linoleum block printing technique, features the seasonal colors of red and gold.

    Complete set includes 12 Hong Kong USD20 gift vouches and a complimentary tall handcrafted beverage voucher and 16 delicate packets in red and gold.

    Starbucks Coffee Wafer Rolls are also made available in China, Singapore, Taiwan. Meanwhile, a delicate treat of aromatic peach blossom and Earl Grey tea with freshly steamed milk, topped off with whipped cream and peach blossom sugar sprinkle.

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  • Delta to serve Starbucks coffee on all flights

    Delta to serve Starbucks coffee on all flights

    Delta Air Lines officially began serving Starbucks Coffee on all its flights worldwide this month as part if its ongoing in-flight enhancements to its food, beverages, seats and entertainment.

    Mike Henny, Delta’s Director of Customer Experience, said with this enhancement to the airline’s core in-flight service product, it hopes to improve the travel experience for customers.

    “We are delighted to provide Starbucks coffee wherever Delta’s customers are traveling,” said Michelle Burns, vice president Branded Solutions, Starbucks.

    Delta initially partnered with Starbucks in 2013 to offer coffee to customers traveling on select cross-country and West Coast Shuttle flights.

    Delta has commissioned artists from around the world to create three larger-than-life art installations made solely out of Starbucks cups.

    The pieces feature famous landmarks and sites of global destinations where Delta and Starbucks fly together: Big Ben in London, Tokyo’s Sensoji Temple in the historic district of Asakusa, and a Carnaval float in São Paulo, Brazil.

    The cup sculptures are on display in Terminal 4 at New York’s-JFK International Airport.

    Starbucks said it expects to serve 68 million cups of coffee on Delta in 2015.

  • Starbucks’ breathtaking ‘Shrine to Coffee’

    Starbucks’ breathtaking ‘Shrine to Coffee’

    Lovingly carved into a handsome thick timber bench at the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room in Seattle is a Victor Hugo quote: “There is nothing like a dream to create the future”.

    It serves as a mantra for this ambitious ultra flagship, meant to be the forerunner of 100 Roastery cafes across the US. For this indeed is a dream brought to life with breathtaking scale, incredible quality, and painstaking detail.

    The “shrine to coffee” (as it was referred to in Wired Magazine) sits at the base of Seattle’s hipster Capitol Hill and is massive – 15,000sqft (or about 1500sqm). It’s designed to be a “totally immersive experience” (a retail cliché, which in this case is an accurate description).

    As a customer, you literally walk into a scrupulously clean, polished to within an inch of its life coffee bean roasting plant. You are greeted by a kind of coffee maître de and order your beverage from a restaurant-like menu on a clipboard – specifying your preferred bean, naturally.

    Food is also on the menu, and I selected a pretzel sesame seed bagel with smashed edamame mixed with mint and lemon, to accompany my Colombian Americano. (The premiumisation of everything is somewhat hilarious. How did we get to this? What ever happened to a cup of Joe and a plain bagel and cream cheese?)

    The service is a little slow (it takes longer to order craft coffee), so while I waited I was able to absorb the space and fitout. From the gleaming copper roasting kettle to the leather curtains; from the blackboard illustrations to the manifesto on entry (“every cup we’ve ever served has led us here”), Starbucks Reserve Roastery is seriously impressive. (If you’re hungry for more than a snack, there is also a Serious Pie gourmet pizza restaurant on the premises.)

    My only reservation is that by the time my coffee arrived, my expectations were through the (cavernous) roof. While the food was delicious, the coffee was, well… still Starbucks. Coming from Australia, I like my coffee strong and flavorful, and this was just a little “meh”.

    Nevertheless, Starbucks Reserve Roastery is remarkable, and well worth a visit. The single star motif above the signature ‘R’ should really be five stars.

    On my way out, I noticed another quote embedded into the bench where a barista was hard at work: “Crafted by hand and heart.”  That sums up the love that has gone into this store – led by designer Liz Muller and CEO, Howard Schultz. God is in the details, and they have most of the details absolutely right.

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  • Starbucks names Kevin Johnson President and COO

    Starbucks names Kevin Johnson President and COO

    Starbucks has appointed Kevin Johnson as president and chief operating officer effective 1 March.

    Johnson, who has been a Starbucks board member since 2009, will lead the company’s global operating businesses across the Americas, EMEA (Europe Middle East and Africa), and China/Asia Pacific, as well as Starbucks supply chain, information technology, and mobile and digital platforms.

    “I am looking forward to working with him and our strongest management team in the company’s 44-year history,” Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, president and CEO.

    Johnson served as chief executive officer of Juniper Networks Inc., from September 2008 through December 2013. Prior to that, he served as the president of the Platforms Division at Microsoft Corporation and was a member of Microsoft’s senior leadership team and held a number of senior executive positions over the course of his 16 years at Microsoft.

    Prior to joining Microsoft in 1992, he worked for International Business Machine Corp.’s systems integration and consulting business. In 2008, Johnson was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) where he served through the end of 2013.

    “Over the past six years I have gotten to know the company well and I look forward to extending my 33 years of operating experience to help propel Starbucks to the next decade of growth and innovation. I am honored and humbled to join Starbucks, a company that I love, during this important time,” Johnson said.

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