Starbucks expanding in Russia

[Larry1]

The Bucks is expanding to Southern Russia, planning stores in Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, and Sochi.

Starbucks Expanding to Southern Russia
02 August 2013 | Issue 5182
The Moscow Times
Starbucks, the world's largest coffeehouse chain, is planning to expand its brand to the south of Russia.

The American company's expansion to the south will begin with Sochi, Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar, where new shops are expected in the next 12 months, Vedomosti reported.

Starbucks was drawn to Russia's south by the high demand for quality coffee and dynamic development in the region, Mojtaba Akbari, general director of Starbucks' Russian management company Coffee Sirena, said.

Now, the company is looking for space for the coffee shops in those cities.

The coffee chain will need to invest about $ 250,000 for each new store without counting the cost of real estate, Mikhail Burmistrov. CEO of the analytics company Infoline-analytiki, said.

While the southern region might become a lucrative market for the brand, the downside is that local cafes and restaurants could make it difficult to gain a foothold in the area.

However, experts say bringing the brand, ubiquitous in many Western countries, to Sochi before the 2014 Winter Olympics virtually guarantees success if the stores are placed correctly. Sochi, Rostov and Krasnodar each have high per capita incomes and attract a large number of tourists from cities where Starbucks is already popular.

Since Seattle-based Starbucks opened its first store in 1971, the company has opened 17 thousand shops worldwide.

The brand currently controls only 1.7 percent of the Russian cafe market, operating 57 cafes in Moscow and three in St. Petersburg.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/starbucks-expanding-to-southern-russia/484014.html

I don't like Starbucks coffee but I realize that lots of people do.  Plus, if you are planning a WMVM trip to Rostov, Krasnodar, or Sochi perhaps Starbucks will serve as a trendy place for you to suggest meeting the girls.  Somewhere I heard most FSUW like to be trendy.   A previous girlfriend of mine asked me to send her a Starbucks travel mug.

[mendeleyev]

I don't like Starbucks coffee but I realize that lots of people do.

Same here.

Starbucks took so much longer than everyone else to enter Russia that they've still got a lot of catching up to do.

[Hammer2722]

Some of their newer coffees are pretty good like Pike Place, verona and a few others.

[Larry1]

Some of their newer coffees are pretty good like Pike Place, verona and a few others.

I read that they introduced some new varieties that didn't taste burnt.  I'll have to try them out.  Actually, it's kinda hard to avoid Starbucks, at least here in the US.  It seems they have near-monopolies on coffee served in many areas.  I remember one Friday morning hiking all around the Riverwalk and downtown San Antonio, Texas trying to find nonStarbucks coffee.  It seemed every hotel and restaurant in the area served only Starbucks.  I finally found an independent shop that served coffee that my girlfriend and I liked. A bit of a pain in the butt to do every morning but worth the effort.

[GQBlues]

Popski was elated when SB entered the Russian market finally. He loves their coffee for some reason we had to send packages of it to supply him. Now he just strolls over to a Starbuck's and buy his own.

It took Starbuck's this long because someone in Russia got copyrights to many of the popular western name brands before any of them were able to establish their presence in-country, LOL. What I know was it took Starbuck's years to win this in court instead of having to pay the person money.

This is great news for the Seattle-based company. I don't know what this will do for their stocks but am willing to bet it can only go up. Another company from the region who's on the NYSE upward ladder is Kirkland. It's at $18.00 now so better get it while it's low.

My wife loves Starbuck's now..methinks more likely just the trendy environment.

[cc3]

I read that they introduced some new varieties that didn't taste burnt.  I'll have to try them out.  Actually, it's kinda hard to avoid Starbucks, at least here in the US.  It seems they have near-monopolies on coffee served in many areas.  I remember one Friday morning hiking all around the Riverwalk and downtown San Antonio, Texas trying to find nonStarbucks coffee.  It seemed every hotel and restaurant in the area served only Starbucks.  I finally found an independent shop that served coffee that my girlfriend and I liked. A bit of a pain in the butt to do every morning but worth the effort.

Give in and enjoy!

[jone]

Hah,

There used to be students that would travel from Ivanovo to the US to learn US business practices.  We had one friend in particular named Alex.  Not Sasha - he hated the name - just Alex.  Alex went back to Mother Russia hooked on Starbucks.  But he could not find any in his home town or when he was driving for his company in Moscow.

I happened to be in Russia shortly after he went home.  After hearing his lament, I thought to myself that there, no way, was no Starbucks in Russia.   I took a Taxi down to Novy Arbat and began walking the street.  After about a ten minute walk, sure enough - there was a Starbucks and I ordered a Grande Carmel Frappachino - Iced - with whipped cream.  After my first couple of sips, I got Alex on the phone.  "Hey Alex!  I'm just sipping my first Frapp of the day.  Where are you?"  The reply urgent reply came back "Who is this and why would you tease me?"  After checking our bonifides and discovering a source for his addiction, Alex agreed to meet us there the next day.

While we treated him when we saw him, I note that the cost of that same drink I had above was about three quarters the amount of his normal income for a day.  We did, however, take pictures and sent them to him so he could show all of his friends that there was a Starbucks in Moscow.  This was probably the year 2008.  Now you can find a Starbucks on many street corners in Moscow.  Worse than McDonalds.  At least McDonalds has Marozhene.

[Misha]

The main advantage of Starbucks: much more caffeine in the coffee than most other brands I did go to the Starbucks on Arbat last year in Moscow: prices were extremely inflated, much more expensive than North America. IIRC, the same coffee cost twice as much as it would have cost in Canada or the USA.

[Faux Pas]

I drink 3-4 cups of coffee every morning and have for years. It's safe to say I do like coffee but I have never "gotten it" when it comes to Starbucks. I've purchased it more than a hundred times I am guessing, mostly in airports. I suppose the fact that I drink it straight up black might be a reason. I have never done anything more than taste the "fru fru" coffees. My wife likes it and buys the beans by the bag as well as regular trips to the local joint. I just don't get it. Their regular coffee quite frankly isn't any better or as good as my home brewed Maxwell House

[jone]

Personally, I like to brew my own.  And comparing Starbucks to Duncan Donuts, the DD coffee always wins.

[Larry1]

It's safe to say I do like coffee but I have never "gotten it" when it comes to Starbucks... I suppose the fact that I drink it straight up black might be a reason.

Some years ago I read the results of some taste tests between Starbucks coffee and other brands.  The testers preferred the other brands when the coffee was served black, but preferred the Starbucks espresso-based drinks, I suppose ones like the Frappucino drink Jone mentioned.

[Faux Pas]

Some years ago I read the results of some taste tests between Starbucks coffee and other brands.  The testers preferred the other brands when the coffee was served black, but preferred the Starbucks espresso-based drinks, I suppose ones like the Frappucino drink Jone mentioned.

Tastes are naturally as subjective as it gets but Starbucks regular coffee isn't anything to crow about and certainly not worth the 6-10 bucks they want to charge for it. I'm not a cheapskate generally speaking but, I've never had a cup of coffee worth 10 buck unless it had some Irish cream in it and my testicles were getting massaged. 

[jone]

I am in Ukraine for the summer but still need to maintain 'Business' hours tied to the West Coast.  Accordingly, my work day starts around 7PM local time.  Because my work day has always started with coffee, I came to a quick conclusion that I should buy a coffee maker once I arrived here.

After shopping in some of the appliance stores, I decided to get a compact Saturn coffeemaker that spits out Espresso - providing that I have the coffee to put in it.  I went to a couple of 'Specialty' coffee shops and found both the product and the price unreasonable.   My solution was simple.  I went to the best coffee shop I could find.  Tried their coffee.  When it met with my approval, I simply bought the ground beans from them in a small bag to take home and brew when it was convenient.  Cost for around 25 good cups of espresso?  Around 45 UAH.

Which brings me to my next topic:  Have you ever tried those abhorrent dunking sticks they sell in Starbucks?  I'm a biscuit or cookie type guy.  Here in Ukraine they have some neat confectionery stores that deliver.  The cookies that I buy do not have too much sugar in them and are sold 6 UAH for a dozen.  My only problem?  I was trying to lose weight this trip.   

[Faux Pas]

[Misha]

Dunking sticks sold is Starbucks? Jone do you mean biscotti?

Caffeine levels compared: http://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/how-much-caffeine-is-actually-in-your-coffee-from-dunkin-to-starbucks

[GQBlues]

I still remember from the not too distant past, right after those cold early morning waves, how much I enjoyed my early morning heaping of loco mocos washed down with a glass full of lukewarm Nescafe sweetened with 2-teaspoon of sugar (which I won't doubt to be Frapuccino's genesis).  Those were the early years. Those were a celebratory moments of my youth when the air was still sweet, the music were encapsulating and varied, the citizens were happy, when a boy was named George and a Republican ruled the land. 
 
So when those early morning shoreline rides slowly withered away and I began to enter the mainstream 9-5 doldrums, I began my transitional maturation and, like any other creature of habit, I started to make my customary visits to Trader Joe's to snag their 3 lb bag of Dark Mocha Java beans and a fistful of cinnamon sticks. Thus, every morning just when the sun is about to ring high noon somehere in the Atlantic, 350 miles east of the eastern shoreline, those fresh Java beans, accompanied by a generous chunk of cinnamon chipped from the stick, would start their morning screams as they readied themselves for the brewing. I would then greet my black and sexy, but very sensitive, Ms. Krups her customary 'Good morning' cheers as i fill her up with her familiar, freshly ground mates and juice them down slowly deep inside of her.
 
I still remember coming out of the shower in those early morning rituals to bathe in that aromatic air Ms. Krups fills in every corner of my beachside apartment. Such treasured mornings they were.
 
Then a revolution began...
 
Ms. Krups was bargained for an early retirement. Trader Joe's lost a loyal patron. And the apartment, with all its happy, glorious and victorious songs of my youth; never smelled quite the same again and anymore...
 
Going from a curious Tall Cappucino, to a more bold and daring Mocha Latte in Grande style, I almost submitted my disloyalty to my youth. Almost. Just "almost".
 
Even today, when time and convenience allows, I do enjoy an occassional modest tall serving of Blonde Roast lightly sprinkled with cinnamon and a packetful of Turbinado. Lightly stirred. Capped and happily enjoyed with an accompaniment of a solitary, heated Morning Sticky Bun. As I sip in these moments, I still reminisce the prescious and cherished days of loco mocos, Ms Krups and those cinnamon flavored morning air of my early adulthood.

Oh, I retired Ms. Krups alright. Wonderful that she was for being so loyal to me for thousands of days, she knows all good things is always met with their inevitable end. Yet each end only gives way to new beginings. Realizing this, happy and content as any man is out there today, I've come to realize my life had really just begun. Ms. Krups will always reside in me. No one can ever take her away from me. Not the Starry Buck's line-up of sweetened pretenders nor their suffocating presence. Not the Cappucinos, the Fraps, the Lattes, nor their Buns...none.

So in my unselfish attempt to swim in memories of Ms. Krups forevermore, I had since replaced her with her much, much younger cousin; the delectably, contemporary, sexier and more personal, Ms. K-Cup.
 
Made and imported from (Eastern) Europe   
 
Welcome to the new Revolution.

[Faux Pas]

My wife buys the Starbucks Blonde roast, grinds the beans into a fine powder and cooks it in her Turkish pot that she brought from Russia. You know the style where there is about an inch thick of powder grind in the bottom of her cup. I do make my coffee strong but, there is no comparison. Her could probably be compared to rocket fuel

[ML]

This coffee thing is another example of those who value status and trendy over reality.

I am in  the boat with Faux Pas, Larry1, jone and perhaps others who see the silliness of this Starbucks thingy.

Same idea as those who deride Walmart, even as Walmart carries  many of the exact same national brand names as other stores; and sells these brand items at a substantially lower price.

For coffee, Starbucks isn't even the best, despite being the most expensive.

A bitter shot for Starbucks: McDonald's wins taste test:

http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2003554556_coffee03.html

We often deride FSU folks for being status conscious over substance; but the Starbucks groupies in USA don't take a back seat to anyone in this regard.

Yes, I know  this is a bitter pill to try to swallow.

Think how the French felt when California wines won the taste tests way back in 1976.

[Hammer2722]

This coffee thing is another example of those who value status and trendy over reality.

I am in  the boat with Faux Pas, Larry1, jone and perhaps others who see the silliness of this Starbucks thingy.

Same idea as those who deride Walmart, even as Walmart carries  many of the exact same national brand names as other stores; and sells these brand items at a substantially lower price.

For coffee, Starbucks isn't even the best, despite being the most expensive.

A bitter shot for Starbucks: McDonald's wins taste test:

http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2003554556_coffee03.html

We often deride FSU folks for being status conscious over substance; but the Starbucks groupies in USA don't take a back seat to anyone in this regard.

Yes, I know  this is a bitter pill to try to swallow.

Think how the French felt when California wines won the taste tests way back in 1976.

This is absolutely correct. Mcdonalds serves only Seattle's Best Coffee and I believe it is hands down the best tasting coffee out there for your morning cup. If you haven't tried SBC, definitely give it a shot!!!

[SANDRO43]

My wife buys the Starbucks Blonde roast, grinds the beans into a fine powder and cooks it in her Turkish pot that she brought from Russia. You know the style where there is about an inch thick of powder grind in the bottom of her cup. I do make my coffee strong but, there is no comparison. Her could probably be compared to rocket fuel

That is the standard way of preparing Greek/Turkish/Arabic coffee - i.e. through hot water infusion - similar to the way tea is made, for instance.

The only way...until we introduced steam/pressurised-water extraction:

The first machine for making espresso was built and patented by Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, who demonstrated a working example at the Turin General Exposition of 1884. He was granted patent no. 33/256 dated 16th May 1884 (according to the “Bollettino delle privative industriali del Regno d’Italia”, 2nd Series, Volume 15, Year 1884, pages 635 – 655). A certificate of industrial title was awarded to Mr. Moriondo Angelo, of Turin, for an invention called “New steam machinery for the economic and instantaneous confection of coffee beverage, method ‘A. Moriondo’, Plate CXL"....The piston, or lever, driven machine was developed in Italy in 1945 by Achille Gaggia, founder of espresso machine manufacturer Gaggia.

Moka pots, also known as stove top espresso makers, are similar to espresso machines in that they brew under pressure and the resulting brew shares some similarities, but in other respects differ. As such, their characterization as "espresso" machines is at times contentious, but due to their use of pressure and steam for brewing, comparable to all espresso prior to the 1948 Gaggia, they are accepted within broader uses of the term, but distinguished from standard modern espresso machines. Moka pots are similar to espresso machines in that they brew under pressure, produce coffee with an extraction ratio similar to that of a conventional espresso machine, and, depending on bean variety and grind selection, moka pots can create the same foam emulsion known as crema that conventional espresso machines can.

[cc3]

Tastes are naturally as subjective as it gets but Starbucks regular coffee isn't anything to crow about and certainly not worth the 6-10 bucks they want to charge for it. I'm not a cheapskate generally speaking but, I've never had a cup of coffee worth 10 buck unless it had some Irish cream in it and my testicles were getting massaged. 

6 to 10 bucks for a cup of Starbuck's coffee? In what alternate dimensional universe is this true? At my local SB, in Colorado, the largest cup, 24 ounces, with free refills, is $1.95; the free refill makes it cheaper than coffee from any other fast food place, including McDonald's. The free wi-fi and pleasant ambiance makes it a far more comfortable place to enjoy a cup than the exceedingly more boorish Mickey D's, surrounded by fat-swilling diners who, very evidently, have no nutritional common sense.

The anti-SB's mania seems to now be more widespread than the previous pro-SB's craze.

[Faux Pas]

6 to 10 bucks for a cup of Starbuck's coffee? In what alternate dimensional universe is this true? At my local SB, in Colorado, the largest cup, 24 ounces, with free refills, is $1.95; the free refill makes it cheaper than coffee from any other fast food place, including McDonald's. The free wi-fi and pleasant ambiance makes it a far more comfortable place to enjoy a cup than the exceedingly more boorish Mickey D's, surrounded by fat-swilling diners who, very evidently, have no nutritional common sense.

The anti-SB's mania seems to now be more widespread than the previous pro-SB's craze.

I suppose we are in bizzaro worlds because I pretty sure I've never paid less than 5 bucks for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Never have I had a free refill

[ghost of moon goddess]

The only way...until we introduced steam/pressurised-water extraction:

which my parents (the happy owners of a Gaggia Baby twin) rank alongside the internal combustion engine as one of the most important inventions in human history 

[Gator]

I have never liked American coffee.  When young I would brew a cup of tea for breakfast or office breaks. 
 
Slowly I became aware of something better.  Between business projects in New Orleans and dining with friends at fine Italian restaurants in Philadelphia, my eyes started to open.  The complete awakening came when I worked for the UN and wandered the globe.   In the 30  years since then I have bought roasted beans, kept them in air-tight containers, and ground just the exact amount needed prior to making coffee in a simple pot - either the Turkish pot (inverted cone)  or  the moka pot (see Sandro's photo).   
 
I avoided the electric espresso makers until my wife gave me one for my birthday.  It produces an excellent coffee.  However, I still would recommend a year or two with a Turkish pot as it teaches patience and exactness, and I find the process calming and social.   
 
Beans - I prefer  Kona coast but will also buy Ethiopian and Costa Rican.  Tried Sumatran once and was disappointed.  Roast is important, and I prefer dark roast (French or Italian).  In Florida the Cuban restaurants use a very dark roast, darker than the Italian roast, and it is good.

Regarding the single-serve pod machines, I find the Keurig too Americanized for my tastes.  I tried the Nespresso machine in  a San Franciso hotel room and thought it better than Keurig.

 
The best coffee maker was revealed on my favorite TV show: 



 

[Anotherkiwi]

And what's wrong with instant coffee? 
 
I avoid ground coffee if at all possible (can't stand the taste of most), and generally drink Nescafe Fine Blend at home.  I take a container of this with me when I travel overseas, but I actually found another Nescafe variant in Russia which tastes just as good.  Unfortunately I can't remember the name.