The joint venture between US coffee giant Starbucks and Tata Consumer Products now operates 457 outlets across 70 Indian cities, but has seen softer sales growth amid lower footfall and tightened consumer spend
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Tata Starbucks currently accounts for 8% of Tata Consumer Products’ consolidated revenue | Photo credit: Praveen Thirumurugan
Mumbai-based Tata Starbucks has surpassed Café Coffee Day (CCD) as the largest branded coffee chain in India after strong second quarter outlet growth.
Tata Starbucks, a 50:50 joint venture between US coffee giant Starbucks and Tata Consumer Products, opened 19 net new stores and entered five new cities during the three months ended 30 September 2024 to reach 457 outlets across 70 cities.
Bengaluru-based CCD closed 19 outlets in the year ending 31 March 2024 – a fifth successive year of store closures since the company’s significant debt came to light in 2019 – and now operates 450 sites in India.
In January 2024, Tata Starbucks announced an ambitious goal to reach 1,000 stores by 2028, with a focus on smaller-format sites and further growth in India’s Tier 2 and 3 cities.
While Tata Starbucks has maintained steady outlet growth over the last 12 months, the company’s sales growth has softened from 14% in the corresponding quarter last year to 2% this year – its lowest quarterly growth since the pandemic-impacted three months ending 31 December 2020.
On an investors call, Tata Consumer Products CEO Sunil A D’Souza said sluggish sales growth was ‘in line with soft demand trends’ faced by the wider QSR industry in India – with footfall negatively impacted by inflation and ‘a tightening of the belt’ among consumers.
Fast-food chains McDonald’s, Burger King and Pizza Hut all saw first quarter profit margins squeezed in India after increased discounting to appeal to price-sensitive consumers.
Tata Starbucks currently accounts for approximately 8% of Tata Consumer Products’ consolidated revenue. The Indian tea and coffee group achieved 13% year-on-year group revenue growth for the three months ending 30 September 2024 to Rs 4,214 Cr ($501m). Total consolidated net profit increased 8% to Rs 364 Cr ($43.2m).