Vietnam coffee chain Trung Nguyen targets Starbucks on home turf | Bangkok Post: business

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Vietnam coffee chain targets Starbucks

Trung Nguyen Group Corp, Vietnam’s biggest coffee retailer, wants to buy bean roasters in the US and open shops in Seattle, New York and Boston this year, just after Starbucks debuted in Ho Chi Minh City.

Packages of Trung Nguyen ground coffee on sale in Buon Ma Thuot City, Vietnam. Photo: Claire Leow/Bloomberg

The company plans to fund US acquisitions by selling a stake of as much as 15%, Dang Le Nguyen Vu, founder of the coffee roaster, processor and retailer, said in an interview. Starbucks, the world’s biggest coffee-shop chain, opened its first Vietnam store on Feb 1.

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  • bkposter

    United StatesPost : 1,318

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    Discussion 3 : 09 Feb 2013 at 05.153

    I think they are welcome to try, but seems they have a very small chance. If as Geoffe in D1 points out they are treated the way western retailers are treated in Asia then that chance is between zero and minus zero % chance of success. If they want to break in to the western market then they will need to change the brand name of the product as the current name will mean nothing to westerners and probably has a negative rather than a positive appeal. Coffee is a matter of personal taste, and what one will love others will not like at all.

  • DickFarang

    ThailandPost : 323

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    Discussion 2 : 08 Feb 2013 at 17.382

    Let us hope that their coffee (and service) is at least slightly better than Starbucks’s.

  • geoffo

    ThailandPost : 2,917

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    Discussion 1 : 08 Feb 2013 at 16.391

    Good luck to Mr Vu taking on a big challenge. A positive aspect for him doing business in the US (and Australia and NZ for that matter) is that he can set up his business in a straightforward manner without ownership restrictions, staff ratios limits, being allowed to work only in specific locations, required to make 90 days reports and comply with various other anti foreigner rules.

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