Tata Starbucks forays into Chennai; takes tally of stores to 50

NEW DELHI: Tata Starbucks, the 50:50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Global Beverages Ltd, today opened its first store in Chennai, taking the total number of company's outlets in the country to 50.

"The opening of the 50th Starbucks store in India strongly reiterates our commitment to the Indian market for the long-term," Starbucks China and Asia Pacific, Channel Development and Emerging Brands group president John Culver said in a statement.

The company, which now has stores operational across five cities, will continue to open more stores and thoughtfully grow in the market, Tata Starbucks said.

"We are thrilled to celebrate the opening of our 50th store in India and extend our unique Starbucks experience to the coffee lovers of Chennai," Tata Starbucks Ltd CEO Avani Davda said.

The company said it will foray into Hyderabad later this year.

Starbucks entered the Indian market in October 2012 and currently operates stores across Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai.