Starbucks Coffee Comes to Bulgaria

Starbucks Coffee, the world’s biggest coffeehouse chain, is forging ahead with its plans for world domination as it was announced this week that the coffee giant will be entering the Bulgarian market next year, opening its first coffeehouse in the capital Sofia, with an eye to quick expansion elsewhere in the country over the following months and is a sign of Bulgaria’s increasing adoption of the mainstream.

Normally a sure fire sign of a neighbourhoods gentrification and a tell tale indicator of an upwardly mobile property market. Having already started its foray into emerging markets opening its its first outlets in Russia, the entry of Starbucks into Bulgaria is yet another step forward in this Eastern European country’s viability as a market place with international brand appeal.

Starbucks will be entering the country via its authorized licensee, the Greek Marinopoulos Coffee Company, responsible for french supermarket chain Carrefour’s entry into the country, has confirmed that it is currently hiring personnel for the Bulgarian operation, having already secured locations for future coffeehouses. Bulgaria’s business daily Dnevnik reported this week that the search for personnel is in full swing, with Marinopoulos hiring mid-level managers, marketing personnel and a regional manager.

Coffee is an important part of Bulgarian culture, its sales outstripping those of tea by far. However, the fact that the Bulgarian coffee industry suffers from a certain amount of fragmentation, despite the presence of a small number of international coffee chains, including Costa Coffee, suggests that the time is ripe for the Starbucks giant to enter the market with its first stores set to open in mid-2008.

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