DURBAN - Starbucks in South Africa plans to open eight new stores in the four weeks from mid-November to mid-December, despite Covid-19 economic turmoil, as it expands its footprint.
The stores will be opened in Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Johannesburg and Pretoria.
The move will see the company employ 69 full-time employees and promote 21, bringing the total complement of permanent employees to 300.
In November last year, Taste Holdings sold the Starbucks master franchise licence for South Africa for R7 million to Rand Capital Coffee.
Adrian Maizey , the owner and chief executive of Rand Capital Coffee, the custodian of the Starbucks brand in Southern Africa, said on Thursday that as a born and bred South African, he was excited about the major investment into the country, the creation of dozens of jobs during tough economic conditions.
This was through employment opportunities at the new stores, and new business for contractors and sub-contractors who were fitting and equipping the eight stores.
Maizey, who announced his intention to open ten new stores in the country this year, said Starbucks delivered great product innovation, world-class customer service, and quality coffee, while living its commitment to do good, socially and environmentally.
“By the end of 2020, Starbucks is an iconic global brand, and when the opportunity arose to expand it into my home country, particularly as this is one of few remaining scalable regions where Starbucks is yet to have a strong presence, I grabbed the chance,” said Maizey.
He added that Starbucks operated on a licensing model as opposed to a franchise, which was an honour to him to be awarded the licence for South Africa as it seldom went to an individual.
The store opening schedule begins on November 19with Canal Walk, and would include other prime Cape Town locations at Cavendish Square, Stellenbosch, Tyger Valley Shopping Centre, the V&A Waterfront and Camps Bay while in Pretoria at Castle Gate Mall and in Johannesburg in Rosebank.
About bucking the prevailing trends in the pandemic-affected hospitality industry with major investing in 2020, Maizey said taking all economic realities into account, in real terms the challenges and opportunities of running a business remain of the same nature,that was, building sustainable relationships with customers and partners, doing it in an economically viable way.
“Our business models should always be built on solid foundations to withstand economic downturns, and at the same time, they must be flexible enough to identify and embrace change when needed.”
With the company’s reach extending further into the South African market as it expands its footprint, Maizey said the challenge as newcomers to the increasingly discerning coffee market was to better inform the public about all that Starbucks has to offer.
Starbucks began in 1971 as a roaster and retailer of beans, ground coffee, tea and spices, with a single store in Seattle. Today the company connects with millions of customers every day with its own special taste and offering that has seen the company grow to more than 30,000 retail stores in 80 markets.
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