Starbucks to Open Costa Rica Store

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According to El Financiero, the first Starbucks coffee shop will open in May in the Avenida Escazu shopping center.  According to Manuela Velásquez, the marketing director of Corporación de Franquisias Americanas (CFA) which operates the franchise in Central America, there are no plans in the works for additional locations at this time. Although they expect to open shops in other shopping malls and in independent locations eventually.

“We are excited to introduce our high-quality coffee and the unique Starbucks Experience to customers in Costa Rica” said Pablo Arizmendi-Kalb, vice president and general manager, Starbucks Latin America. “Starbucks has been buying coffee in Costa Rica, for many years.  We are honored to expand our role in the rich coffee heritage that’s present in Costa Rica.”

Starbucks began operation in 1971 and has 17,000 coffee shops in 55 countries worldwide. CFA employs more than 15,000 workers in Central America, operating franchises such as  Pizza Hut, KFC, Wendy’s & China Wok. CFA did not release information about the size of the first store, or how many jobs Starbucks will generate in 2012, however in El Salvador and Guatemala they opened two stores in each country in 2011.

Although Starbucks has the brand recognition, El Financiero pointed out that it will face quite a bit of competition. In 2011 two companies in the same field began operations here: Espresso Americano & Café Barista. Espresso Americano has 3 locations already, in additiona Dunkin' Donuts has announced plans to begin operations here in 2013.

Meanwhile, local companies such as Pastelería Giacomin have no plans for expansion, believing that the Costa Rica market is not growing.  According to Luigi Giacoman, spokesman for the company, “The market in the Central Valley is saturated. New companies that want to enter the market should look to areas where there is a high demand and cater to their niche."