Starbucks Coffee: Expansion in Asia (Case #16, Notes) Overview Many Singaporeans view Starbucks as a

Starbucks Coffee: Expansion in Asia (Case #16, Notes) Overview Many Singaporeans view Starbucks as a young and trendy American coffee shop. Therefore, it would be to Starbucks greatest advantage to market the brand as a sophisticated and trendy coffee. Starbucks should continue to set up additional stores in shopping districts where tourists and locals shop. Furthermore, other potential store locations include hotels and the financial district area. Setting up a Starbucks in a hotel will service tourists, as well as the local people. Many locals frequent the restaurants and coffee shops within the various hotels. Finally, Starbucks could open a store in the financial district. This will allow Starbucks to be exposed to the high volume of pedestrian traffic. Though Starbucks has plans to eventually open a roasting plant in Japan to reduce costs, we recommend that Starbucks look into a plant in Singapore instead of Japan. Singapore is at the crossroads of international shipping and air routes. They would then have a roasting plant in Asia that could supply the coffee beans for Starbucks retail stores in those countries. With their plans to expand into Malaysia and Thailand, Singapore is an ideal country to set up a roasting plant because Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore are linked together with roads and rails for easy transportation. Also, Singapore would be a more cost efficient country to set up a plant relative to Japan because of lower fixed costs. As with any new