Starbucks is going to Vietnam: The company will open its first cafe in the country early next month in Ho Chi Minh City as part of its strategy to expand across Asia. It already operates more than 3,300 stores across 11 countries in China and the Asia-Pacific region. "We are looking forward to serving our customers in Vietnam in an authentic and locally relevant way," said Jinlong Wang, president for Starbucks Asia Pacific.
The Seattle-based chain will be entering a country of coffee lovers that already has an established market; at least two popular homegrown chains have dozens of locations across the country. Vietnam is the world's second-largest coffee producer behind Brazil and already provides high-quality beans for Starbucks stores in other countries. (More Starbucks stories.)