People of Yangon, get ready for some reliably average coffee. Starbucks is coming to town.
The American coffee franchise’s first outlet in Myanmar is set to open in downtown Yangon’s Sule Square shopping center. The announcement comes after the Myanmar Investment Commission approved a foreign-owned company called Myanmar Coffee Concepts to be the official Starbucks operator for Myanmar on May 12, the Myanmar Times has reported.
Starbucks has been planning its expansion to Myanmar for several years as part of its general expansion within Southeast Asia. During a visit to Thailand in 2013, CEO Howard Schultz announced that Myanmar would get its first Starbucks outlet “within the next couple of years.”
Starbucks will be competing with a number of international coffee chains that have preceded its entrance into Myanmar, including Australia-based Gloria Jean’s and US-based Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain, had a total of 28,039 outlets around the world by the end of 2017. The opening of the Yangon location will mark the multinational’s penetration into every ASEAN country, except for Laos.
The date for the opening of the Sule Square Starbucks has yet to be announced.
