MUMBAI/NEW DELHI ¨C Starbucks is revamping its strategy to lure Indians, including children, with smaller, cheaper beverages as it looks to expand in small towns amid a fierce challenge from domestic startups in one of its fastest-growing markets.
Among the first foreign coffee brands to enter tea-loving India, the U.S. giant has taken almost 11 years to open 343 stores, in contrast with private equity-backed chains Third Wave and Blue Tokai that opened about 150 in the last three years.
¡°As you grow in size, you need to get new consumers,¡± said Sushant Dash, the chief executive of Starbucks in India, adding that the chain¡¯s ¡°pricing play¡± would help shatter a perception that it is expensive.
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