When I first entered the coffee industry in 2002, it was one dominated by Starbucks. Not much has changed.
However, when a consumer industry is dominated by one player, I look at that as an opportunity. Consumers will always want choice, whether that is in the US, Japan, China or, to be honest, anywhere in the world. Starbucks created an industry that did not exist 25 years ago, but it is impossible for a company to be all things to all people, no matter how dominant.
Over the past five years, Honolulu Coffee has grown from six stores in Hawaii to 32 stores in Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai, Guam and Hawaii, with another 10 to 15 stores scheduled to open this year.
Our growth is attributable to three factors: 1) well-developed points of differentiation, 2) efficient use of capital and 3) continual focus on quality over competing for the lowest price point.
