If you had been in charge of the international expansion of Starbucks, what would you have changed (e.g., the pace, the choice of host countries)? Case 4.1 Coping with the four dimensions of distance in the international expansion of Starbucks19 US-based Starbucks, established in 1971, is the largest coffee house company in the world. When it decided to leave its North American base, it opened its first overseas locations in Japan and Singapore in 1996, and it quickly expanded throughout Asia, Europe and Latin America. By early 2003, Starbucks had 1,532 coffee houses outside the US and Canada – 23 per cent of its 6,526 stores worldwide. However, these international stores accounted for less than 10 per cent of its total revenue. Returns on its overseas investments varied from country to country, but by 2003, it had not yet earned a net profit on its international investments as a whole.