See India among top 5 global markets in long term: Starbucks

The company, which has missed its target of opening 50 outlets in the country by 2012 at an investment of Rs 400 crore, however, remained non-committal on by when it would be able reach the milestone.

"We are committed to India for the long-term and we want to grow aggressively here. India will be our top five markets around the world over a long-term," Starbucks Coffee President (China and Asia Pacific) John Culver told reporters here.

He, however, declined to share any time-frame and said currently the US, Canada, Japan, the UK and China are its top five markets. Starbucks is present in India as an equal joint venture with Tata Global Beverages.

When asked specifically if Starbucks is still committed to opening of 50 cafes and investing Rs 400 crore in India, Culver said: "From the Starbucks perspective, we are a publicly traded company. We do not release those figures publicly...We did not do those numbers specifically from a Starbucks perspective."

During a joint press conference in January last year, Culver alongwith Tata Global Beverages Vice Chairman R K Krishnakumar had announced plans to open 50 cafes in the country in 2012, entailing an investment of Rs 400 crore.

"The initial investment will be Rs 400 crore between the two partners, and as business expands we will keep moving it up...we are looking at opening 50 stores this year

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