Starbucks Coffee Korea net drops

Starbucks Coffee Korea net drops
Tags: Coffee / Specialty Beverages, International, Operations Management
April 10, 2007

The Korea Times: Starbucks Corp. suffered its first drop in net profit last year in Korea due to increasing operating costs and contributions to society, the company said Wednesday.

Starbucks Coffee Korea, the joint venture with South Korea's retail conglomerate Shinsegae, recorded 9.1 billion won (U.S. $9.68 million) in after-tax net profit in 2006, down 4.2 percent from 9.5 billion won (U.S. $10.1 million) the previous year, its spokesperson Joyce Park said.

It is the first time that the coffee shop chain has posted a decline in annual net profit since it opened its first shop in Seoul in 1999.