On the heels of a successful launch in Vietnam, Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, announced that the American coffee chain will open hundreds of stores in the country.

Before opening its 2-story flagship store on Le Lai St., many thought that Starbucks would face serious challenges due to Vietnam’s long and rich love affair with coffee.

Trung Nguyen Coffee owner, Dang Le Nguyen Vu, espoused the benefits of Vietnamese coffee, stating that Vietnamese prefer the “thick, oily” brew to “coffee-flavoured water with sugar in it.”

While Starbucks has exceeded its sales targets in Saigon, some say the chain could still do more to adapt to their new market:

"Nguyen Van Minh Khanh, 24, said Starbucks should use drip filters perched on top of glass mugs, the way the Vietnamese do. If Starbucks wants to succeed in Vietnam, they have to change the way they serve.”

The company is putting an emphasis on its Asia expansion and plans to double the number of stores in Thailand to 320 and expand into Myanmar within the next couple of years.

We'll stick with our VND12,000 street coffee. 

[Adweek]