Last week Vida e Caffè announced its development plans to expand into four more African countries. "Understanding that each country and culture is unique is imperative," comments Craig Gravett, business development manager for International and Corporate, on what he believes is the key to success. "For instance, while coffee is traditionally perceived as a morning thing, in Ghana it is an evening pastime with the majority of stores trading to 10pm and 11pm at night. Then there is the approach to staff and labour and each skill set is different, plus working with what is available locally or imported. The recipe is simple but hard to get right - it needs strong working relationships with the right partner in the right region." On the other hand, Carlo Gonzaga of Taste Holdings, who spoke about the decision and story of bringing Starbucks to South Africa at the 20th Annual Congress of the South African Council of Shopping Centres on Friday, said that the group is focused on quality over quantity at this stage in the game. Gonzaga mentioned that there are actually three Starbucks stores in SA, the third being at the head office. It was built to incorporate the Starbucks culture in the group, he said. "You need to have a cultural fit. It's the only way to have a share of value that is sustainable." The third official store is scheduled to open at Menlyn Maine in Pretoria next Wednesday. Winners of the Retail Design and Development Awards and the Footprint Marketing Awards were announced during the 3-day congress. The Spectrum Award for each went to Mall of Africa and Sandton City for its 'Empty Shop', respectively.
Jessica Tennant, Retail Editor (@Biz_Retail)
Comment online in our ed's column archive. Go mobile with apps and m.bizcommunity.com. Engage with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. Subscribe to YouTube and via RSS. Send all your retail news and event invitations to retailnews@bizcommunity.com, exclusive opinion pieces to contributors-retail@bizcommunity.com and international news to internationalnews@bizcommunity.com. Read "How to contribute to Biz, from op-ed pieces to news".