Noelle Lee's Blog

Waking up in the morning with a cup of coffee is part of the Western culture. This explains why Starbucks is so successful in the United States and Canada with over 12,000 retail stores. Currently, Starbucks has more than 17,000 stores in over 50 countries globally. Even in a small city like Hong Kong, there are over 110 Starbucks stores.

I have been living in Hong Kong for more than 17 years, and in this blog post, I would like to talk more about Starbucks in Hong Kong. Due to cultural differences, the proportion of people drinking coffee in Hong Kong is less than those in Western countries. Besides, many people in Hong Kong prefer teas and bottled drinks to coffee. Hence, we don’t often see people carrying a coffee cup while walking on the street when compared to the US or Canada.

In order to promote its brand in Hong Kong, Starbucks collaborated with G.O.D to create a Starbucks with the 1950’s Hong Kong tea house design on Duddell Street. In the 1950s, people went to the tea house for coffee, tea, and some trendy Western treats like ice-cream. This design definitely incorporated Hong Kong’s unique history and highlighted the richness of Hong Kong local culture.

All images from http://www.unlawyer.net