Starbucks Corp. (Seattle) has announced that it will have stores in Mexico and Latin America by the end of the year, with 900 locations by 2005. The company will build 10 to 15 stores in Mexico in the 12 months after the first opening. It is also exploring other Latin American markets, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
The company will develop this market with SC de Mexico SA, an affiliate of fast-food franchiser Alsea SA de CV, a food distributor and large operator of Domino's Pizza franchises in Mexico. Starbucks is also expected to expand into Indonesia with local partner PT Mitra Adiperkasa.
The Number One U.S. specialty coffee retailer, Starbucks operates more than 5000 coffee shops in office buildings, shopping centers, airport terminals and supermarkets in 20 countries worldwide. The company sells its beans to restaurants, businesses, airlines and hotels, also offering mail-order and online catalogs. Starbucks has expanded into coffee ice cream (with Dreyer's) and makes Frappuccino, a bottled coffee drink (with PepsiCo).