Chile: Starbucks and Cencosud join forces to compete against Falabella and Juan Valdéz

Chilean department store operators CENCOSUD (owners of the Tiendas París chain) has entered the race for Chile’s coffee market, forming an informal alliance with US mega-chain Starbucks. Their objective will be to compete against the dominant incumbent, a similar partnership between Falabella stores and Colombian coffee producers Juan Valdéz, which already owns 22 stores in the country.

Soledad Fantuzzi, Marketing Director for Starbucks Coffee Chile, declared that “We are – both of us – very happy with initial results. Whatever happens next will determine our future path. Over the last few years we have explored new alternatives and business models in order to expand our current market presence and to reach different customer bases with each move.”

Juan Valdéz, which has a worldwide chain of over 3,100 stores in 22 countries, has seen considerable growth and opened several new stores in Chile. In 2014 alone the brand saw growth of 34%, with up to $2.3 million in profits. Starbucks and Cencosud will attempt to emulate this success, while also offering what they consider to be a whole new experience for Chilean shoppers.

Source: Diario Financiero

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