Starbucks renews its India plans

"Starbucks would very much like to enter India in the future. We have for some time engaged in conversation with a range of potential Indian partner companies," a company spokesperson told PTI.

Starbucks, which was earlier eyeing its India foray by the end of 2007, withdrew its application on July 19, 2007 to operate single brand retail stores and said it was postponing its India plans without giving a time-frame for future plans.

"We believe we can deliver a unique, values based experience to Indian consumers. We hope to move things forward in our partnership and planning soon, however, it is too early to comment on a definitive timeline," the spokesperson added.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) had rejected Starbucks' application in 2007 to open single-brand retail stores in India, apparently because of the lack of clarity on the foreign shareholding structure of the proposed Indian venture.

Last week, in the biennial investor conference in New York John Culver, president of Starbucks Coffee International had said that "strong fundamentals and customer demand provide the company with the foundation to accelerate growth into established markets, such as Canada and Japan, and new or emerging markets such as China, Brazil, India and Russia."

Starbucks CFO Troy Alstead added, "we intent to capture a larger share of coffee consumption, reaching consumers wherever and whenever they want great coffee."