MYANMAR
Investvine-May 13, 2018
Starbucks has set its sight on tapping coffee lovers in Myanmar as part of its expansion in Southeast Asia, the company’s CEO Howard Schultz said during a visit to Thailand to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its founding in the country
Schultz said that Myanmar was one of the targeted countries for the firm to expand its business “within the next couple of years.” Other countries are China and India, he added.
The company also plans to double its size in Thailand to 320 branches within the next five years. Currently, the firm has 19,000 coffee branches in 62 countries.
With the announcement, Starbucks joins a number of other fast-food chains and convenience restaurants from the US which all have said they want to venture into Myanmar, such as KFC, Krispy Kreme, Dunkin’ Donuts, Pizza Hut and even McDonald’s. Due to the lifting of the US sanctions against, many started seriously looking for suitable Myanmar franchisees since late 2012.
Singapore’s Chewy Junior already has several outlets at prime locations in Yangon. Korea’s Lotteria & BBQ Chicken have just opened their first few outlets in Yangon in April. Malaysia’s Marrybrown announced that they will open 20 restaurants in the next 5 years in Myanmar.
PepsiCo Inc. recently said it had reached a deal with a local Myanmar company to begin distributing several key brands there. Coca-Cola said in June 2012 that it also is planning to re-enter Myanmar after 60 years of waiting.
For now, Myanmar’s own fast-food joints, known as teashops, will continue selling their own versions of “happy meals”, comprising of deep-fried insects, freshly squeezed sugarcane juice, coconut noodles, red bean and coconut pancakes and pig head salad.
