Starbucks faces steep competition. Japan’s “chilled cup” market is teeming with rival products, including Starbucks lookalikes.
One of the most popular brands, called Mt. Rainier, is emblazoned
with a green circle logo that closely resembles that of Starbucks.
Convenience stores also are packed with canned coffee drinks, including Coca-Cola Co.’s Georgia brand and brews with extra caffeine or made with gourmet coffee beans.
Schultz declined to speculate on exactly how much coffee
Starbucks might sell through Japan’s convenience stores. “We
wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t important both strategically and
economically,” he said.