hjedbhbkjd sbckdb snddsStrategies for Reaching Global Markets

It seems as if Starbucks tends to expand into global markets through joint ventures. As Kelly and McGowen (2012) explain a joint venture is when multiple companies come together in order to pursue the same goals and opportunities (Kelly & McGowen, 2012, p. 43). Taking this a step further, it seems as if the joint ventures that Starbucks pursues are set up more as partnerships. A partnership, as defined by Kelly and McGowen (2012), is a “voluntary agreement under which two or more people act as co-owners of a business for profit,” (p. 43).

As recently as January 2012, Starbucks entered a joint venture with Tata Global Beverages to begin opening and operating Starbucks cafes throughout India (HT Media Ltd., 2012). Also, according to Carol Matlack (2008), there is a major difference between the way Starbucks stores are owned and operated within the United States versus without. Inside the U.S., close to two-thirds of their stores are owned by Starbucks while outside of the U.S. about two-thirds of their stores are partnerships. This makes sense for the Starbucks Corporation because they are able to align themselves with partners who may already have working knowledge of what it takes to run a business in other locations outside of the United States. They can also help by taking on some of the costs associated with expanding into new markets, making the move less of a risk and financial burden on Starbucks. As Carol Matlack (2008) puts it, with partners fronting most of the finances needed to open and operate an international Starbucks, Starbucks itself faces much less risk.

Utilizing their approach of joint ventures and partnerships, Starbucks looks to be focusing its’ expansion into the geographical area of Asia, with a focus on China and India. Some of the reasons for choosing these