Starbucks is opening in Russia, but has it missed the boat, asks shaun walker in Moscow |
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Seventeen years after Russia got rid of communism and got McDonalds in return, another American giant will finally open its first outlet in Russia tomorrow. But while McDonalds had mile-long queues when it opened in 1990, and still serves a staggering 200,000 Russians every day, Starbucks might just have missed the boat.
The Seattle-based cafe chain has been eyeing Russia for some time, but was caught up in a protracted legal battle with a Moscow lawyer who'd bought up the trademark and was trying to sell it back to them. They finally won the case last year. In the interim, coffee shops have opened on every corner, with domestic chains Coffee House and Shokoladnitsa taking the lion's share of the market.
But while Russians have taken quickly to coffee, drinking patterns here differ from the
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| Domestic chain Coffee House doesn’t just serve coffee, but beer and vodka too |
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West. Many coffee shops stay open round the clock, and people like to while away an hour or two slowly drinking and smoking. Coffee House, with 90 shops in Moscow, doesn't just serve coffee, but beer and vodka too.
Starbucks spokesperson Kerry Irwin confirmed that except for some 'local content' in the food offered, the company would not be changing anything about its global model to cater to local taste. She refused to comment on the company's longer term expansion plans in the country.
"I'll go, but I don't know if any of my friends will," said Madina Kochenova, a young Russian TV reporter who fell for Starbucks while studying in the States. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone here have coffee 'to go', and the fact that their cafes are non-smoking will put a lot of people off too."
With Russia becoming the 43rd country where it's possible to buy the original frappucino, the chain is clearly banking on its business model changing local tastes, and not the other way round. 
FIRST POSTED SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
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