Starbucks moves ahead with plan to open more shops in Vietnam While analysts believe that Starbucks has bogged down in Vietnam with third poorly patronized shops, the representative of the US giant affirms that hundreds of Starbucks shops will be opened in the Vietnamese market. Patricia Marques, CEO of Starbucks Vietnam, has affirmed that the US coffee chain still has been developing well in Vietnam and that it is moving ahead with the plan to open more and more shops here. She also revealed that Vietnamese may see the Starbucks logo in another city next year. The “another city” that the CEO mentioned, according to analysts, is Hanoi. And the first Starbucks café is believed to be opened in the second quarter of 2014. However, she said that the Vietnamese market is stiffly competitive, therefore, Starbucks, with the medium and long term investment vision, is seeking a cautious development strategy to ensure the success in the long term. Starbucks joined the Vietnamese market by the opening of the first shop in HCM City in February 2013 through a franchise contract signed between Starbucks and Y Tuong Viet Food and Drink Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Maxim’s Group. The opening of the first Starbucks’ café was a big event earlier this year, when people had to queue up to buy the cups of coffee. The second café, opened six months later, has been poorly patronized. This is the reason why analysts think that Starbucks would not be able to cement its firm position in Vietnam. They believe that Vietnamese consumers just tried Starbucks coffee because of the curiosity, while the Starbucks’ taste is not favored by them, who prefer coffee with strong flavor. Vu Tuan Anh, Director of the Vietnam Management Institute, in an article published on Tri Thuc Tre, wrote that Starbucks has got disillusioned when meeting too many difficulties in Vietnam, especially when it cannot attract the high number of customers as expected. Starbucks’ CEO Schultz, when answering Wall Street Journal in Bangkok, said the turnover of the first 2-storey café in HCM City was higher than expected. However, he declined to give the exact figure. The second café could not attract many visitors right on the inauguration day. Meanwhile, the news about the opening of the third shop only appeared on some local newspapers. Anh commented that Starbucks may feel “lonely” in the Vietnamese market, because it can only attract foreigners and Viet Kieu. Meanwhile, middle income earners and students, the main customers it targets, still turn their back to Starbucks. Regarding the second shop, the CEO of Starbucks Vietnam affirmed that the business still has been going smoothly and that Starbucks is happy with its business result. She explained that every shop targets a certain group of customers; therefore, it is decorated in a specific way and has its specific atmosphere. There could be the shops for family union, for businessmen, office workers, or the shops for young customers. The second shop on Nguyen Du Street aims to serve the office workers at the office building and the neighboring areas. Starbucks still organizes training courses on every Monday to show customers the way to enjoy coffee. Mai Chi, VietNamNet Bridge