Tata Starbucks to open store in Bangalore on Friday

New Delhi: Bullish on the Indian market for growth, Tata Starbucks on Wednesday said it is opening its next store in Bangalore on Friday. Starbucks, the world's largest retailer of coffee, has 50:50 joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, parent of Tata Coffee.

"We have now operated in India for over a year. We have nearly 30 stores. We are in the process of opening up in Bangalore on Friday. "And overall the business here in India is very strong and it exceeded our expectations as a company," John Culver, Group President, Starbucks Coffee China and Asia Pacific, told reporters here.

He was talking after his meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. Tata Starbucks had launched its first store in Mumbai in October 2012.

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He said that the company would continue to invest in India. "...through our partnership with Tata, we have been able and navigated the complexities of doing business here in India...and we are going to continue to make investments here and do business," he added.

When asked about the impact of the global slowdown on its growth plans internationally, he said: "We continue to have very strong business across the world. We now operate in 62 countries and over 19,000 stores around the world". He added that last year the company has reported record results in the fourth quarter.

"And we are going to continue to make investments...and work here in India for a long term and we are working and continue to make right investment in business here," he said. Tata Starbucks now runs stores in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Pune.