Taste Holdings, the holding group who brought Domino’s Pizza to our shores, have signed the rights to bring the coffee giant to South Africa – with the first store set to open in Joburg in the first half of 2016.
“We are proud to be bringing Starbucks to South Africa next year,” says Kris Engskov, president, Starbucks Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). “Working with Taste, our partner, we’re going to deliver a great Starbucks experience. 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. We can’t wait to get started.”
“We are very excited to be Starbucks partner in Southern Africa. As we’ve visited numerous Starbucks markets and partners around the world we’ve come to realise that we share similar core values, including a commitment to localisation and uplifting both direct and indirect partners,” explains Carlo Gonzaga, CEO of Taste. “Starbucks supports the development of local suppliers and is fully committed to our Changing Lanes program wherein we have provided employment to previously unemployed people and expose them to global training initiatives and skills. Overall we’re a good partnership match.”
It’s anybodys guess whether hipsters will flock to the chain or opt to stay lurking in the dark corners of artisan coffee shops.
We’ll post more information about Starbucks in Cape Town when it becomes available. I’m sure it will be soon after the Joburg launch and predict that to happen by next September.
