New agreement gives SouthRock, a leading
multi-brand restaurant operator, the rights to develop and operate
Starbucks® stores in Brazil – building on more than a decade of
business growth, brand loyalty and trust in the market
SouthRock commits $1 million to drive social
impact and community initiatives for Starbucks Brazil, including
Starbucks Global Academy, a free online education program for
employees through the company’s strategic partnership with Arizona
State University
Following transition of ownership in Brazil,
Starbucks poised for long-term growth across Latin America and the
Caribbean, building on more than 1,200 stores in 17 markets to
date
Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) today announced that it
has entered into an agreement with SouthRock – a leading
multi-brand restaurant operator in Brazil – to fully license
Starbucks retail operations in the country. The agreement provides
SouthRock the rights to develop and operate Starbucks® stores in
Brazil. By leveraging its strong market knowledge in commercial
real estate, marketing and operations, SouthRock plans to drive
long-term growth in a way that creates new opportunities for
Starbucks customers and employees, both in existing markets as well
as future markets across Brazil.
“We strongly believe this is the right time to leverage a strong
local business partner like SouthRock as we pursue our ambitious,
long-term growth agenda for Brazil,” said Ricardo Rico, general
manager and vice president for Starbucks licensed store operations,
Latin America. “SouthRock has a solid track record of bringing
unique retail experiences to customers in Brazil, creating
meaningful opportunities for its employees, and investing in the
Brazilian economy. They are the ideal partner to take the Starbucks
brand into the next phase of profitable growth in Brazil.”
Since entering Brazil in December 2006, Starbucks has built the
brand by delivering a consistent, authentic in-store experience. As
of today, Starbucks serves customers in 113 stores in 17 cities
across the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro with more than
1,450 employees. Looking ahead, the company will work with
SouthRock to bring the Starbucks Experience to more customers,
while creating opportunities for even more employees and their
families as the business grows. SouthRock will also continue the
brand’s long-standing tradition of celebrating locally sourced
Starbucks® Brasil Blend coffee in all stores and plans to invest $1
million towards social impact initiatives that benefits employees
and the communities they serve, including Starbucks Global Academy,
a unique and free online education platform for employees through
Starbucks strategic partnership with Arizona State University.
“At SouthRock, we pride ourselves on our hands-on approach to
food and beverage management in Brazil, with a focus on building
trust with our employees and empowering them to deliver experiences
that exceed our customers’ expectations,” said Ken Pope, founder
and CEO, SouthRock. “Our management team’s track record is one
built on growth through operational excellence, and our shared
values with Starbucks are particularly evident in our respect for
our employees and the communities we serve. SouthRock is committed
to caring for and growing the Starbucks brand, now and into the
future.”
SouthRock was founded in 2015 by Ken Pope, who along with
SouthRock’s executive management team hold experience owning and
operating major national and international food and beverage brands
in Brazil. SouthRock owns and operates “Brazil Airport
Restaurants,” a multi-brand food and beverage service company
operating in Brazil’s largest airports. Brazil Airport Restaurants’
license agreements include Starbucks and TGI Friday’s among other
international brands. Pope previously built a multi-brand portfolio
of leading Brazilian food and beverage brands which included St.
Marche Supermercados, Eataly Brazil, The Fifties: Traditional
Burger, China-in-Box and Gendai. SouthRock COO Antonio Neves has
worked for more than 23 years in the retail and food & beverage
industries in Brazil, and led the company’s Brazil operations teams
at International Meal Company (IMC) prior to working alongside Pope
in his previous multi-brand portfolio.
“With Starbucks, we see continued opportunities for growth in
existing markets like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, as well as new
markets like Brasilia and the South, and look forward to leveraging
our local market capabilities to create even greater value for both
Starbucks employees and customers,” added Pope.
With the transition of ownership in Brazil, Starbucks retail
operations across all 17 markets in Latin America and the Caribbean
will become wholly licensed. Starbucks currently has a presence in
Argentina, Aruba and Curacao, Bahamas, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico,
Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago. Starbucks will also
open in Uruguay later this year.
“Much of Starbucks success in Latin America and the Caribbean
has been due to our knowledge of when to rely on local and regional
trusted licensing partners to grow the business,” added Rico. “For
us, the right mix of ownership models – company owned, licensed or
joint venture – has allowed us to remain focused on our biggest
opportunities as we further accelerate growth across the globe,
while always striving for the iconic Starbucks customer and partner
experience. We are ready for this next phase of growth in Brazil
and are proud to welcome SouthRock to our strong network of
licensing partners in Latin America.”
About SouthRock
SouthRock prides itself on its hands-on “owner/operator”
approach to food and beverage management in Brazil. SouthRock
focuses on building trust with employees and empowering them to
deliver experiences which exceed customers’ expectations. Its
management team’s track record is one built on growth through
operational excellence by creating meaningful opportunities for
partners to advance their careers and deliver strong financial
results to our stakeholders. For more information please contact:
info@southrockcapital.com
About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to
ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today,
with more than 27,000 stores around the globe, Starbucks is the
premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world.
Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding
principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for
every customer through every cup. To share in the experience,
please visit our stores or online at Starbucks.com and
news.starbucks.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained herein are “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the applicable securities laws
and regulations, including, without limitation, growth in Brazil.
Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words
such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,”
“feel,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,”
“project,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and similar expressions
intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These
statements are based upon information available to Starbucks as of
the date hereof, and Starbucks actual results or performance could
differ materially from those stated or implied due to risks and
uncertainties associated with its business. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in U.S.
and international economies and currencies, our ability to
preserve, grow and leverage our brands, potential negative effects
of incidents involving food or beverage-borne illnesses, tampering,
adulteration, contamination or mislabeling, potential negative
effects of material breaches of our information technology systems
to the extent we experience a material breach, material failures of
our information technology systems, costs associated with, and the
successful execution of, the company’s initiatives and plans,
including the licensing of our markets in Brazil and other markets,
the acceptance of the company’s products by our customers, the
impact of competition, coffee, dairy and other raw materials prices
and availability, the effect of legal proceedings, and other risks
detailed in the company filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the “Risk Factors” section of the Starbucks
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 1,
2017. The company assumes no obligation to update any of these
forward-looking statements.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180312006273/en/
Starbucks Global CommunicationsAlisha Damodaran,
+1-206-318-7100press@starbucks.com
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