Korean Starbucks Upset Over Phase 2 Exclusion
March 13, 2008 by yangpa
No Phase 2 in Insa-dong, just more lattes……
The recent announcement of Starbucks Coffee’s Phase 2 Operation has left Korean Starbucks workers and management lonely, sad, confused and bitter. According to an area manager who requested anonymity, “Nobody told us anything. Here we are just serving coffee while our American Starbucks cousins are preparing for world domination. I feel like a jilted lover.”
Some industry analysts believe that some international Starbucks operations were simply a front built to confound their enemies and to convince detractors that Starbucks’ true meaning was just to serve coffee. Apparently, this strategy was successful with many around the world, including local Korean employees, shocked at the launch of Phase 2.
Several international branches seem to be part of Phase 2. Others, such as Korea, are left looking like dupes in a worldwide strategic chess game many years in the making. “The worst part of this whole thing is that all the Starbucks in Japan are now closed and preparing for Phase 2. That hurts. Why Japan and not us?,” the manager ruefully asked.
