2. Using Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions and the information in Exhibit 8.9, outline an explanation for Starbucks’s Forbidden City problems based on cultural differences between the United States and China. Forbidden Lattes?

There’s no denying Starbucks is an international force.99 The company had over 13,000 stores at the beginning of 2007, over 3,400 of them outside the United States, and is shooting for a long-term goal of 30,000 stores (international and domestic).

Starbucks opened its fi rst overseas store in Tokyo in 1996. Asia was chosen as the point of entry because the company decided that the European coffee market was extremely mature and wasn’t going to change much over the years. In contrast, the Asian market was still developing. Starbucks had the opportunity to position itself as the leader of a new industry. The table shows the operating regions for Starbucks retail stores and licenses as of October 2006.