Essay About Mr Howard Behar And Mr Nasser Al-Mutair

Starbucks In Kuwait
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JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 15 NO. 2 1998, pp. 191-197 © MCB UNIVERSITY PRESS, 0736-3761 191
Introduction
After a long and tiring flight from Seattle to Kuwait via London, the Kuwaiti
Airlines jetliner finally lands and Mr Howard Behar mentally prepares to
meet with Mr Nasser Al-Mutair. This meeting has been anxiously
anticipated by both parties.
Nasser is a young businessman recently graduated with a degree in
marketing from a regional university in the State of Washington. This is
where he became familiar with Starbucks Coffee and learned of Mr Behar,
the President of Starbucks International Coffee Company.
Nasser had so enjoyed the Starbucks speciality coffees as a student and had
observed how many Americans and other international students also loved to
drink this popular coffee. Knowing the fondness that Arab people have for
coffee, Nasser thought that a speciality coffee shop might be successful in
Kuwait, which has seen an increasing number of Americans and other
foreigners since the Gulf War. As a marketing student, however, Nasser
realized the importance of planning, obtaining information, and getting
expert opinions. He had personally invited Mr Behar to visit with him in
Kuwait City, so that Mr Behar could see the sites Nasser had selected and to
discuss this possible expansion in person. While the deal was far from
complete, Nasser was very confident that his plan would succeed, but was
anxious to hear Mr Behars opinion.
In fact, Nasser had to persuade not only Mr Behar that his idea was sound,
but also his uncle, Abdul Al-Mutair. Abdul Al-Mutair had long been a
prominent financial leader in Kuwait, primarily involved with importing
consumer products and trading. He had recently become interested in the
service industry. With the increasing number of foreigners living in Kuwait,
even for relatively short periods of time, he realized that traditional
restaurants were inadequate to meet their desires. After Nasser had returned
from the United States with his newly acquired degree, he and his uncle had
long talks about what they might do together. Nasser had some interesting
ideas and might be a good person to explore new ventures. Abdul Al-Mutair
was considering financing Nassers venture if it seemed feasible and
profitable.
Mr Behar was anxious to meet with Nasser and also very curious. He had
never been to the Middle East and was uncertain what he would find there.
He had had little time to learn about the country or culture, but he had
certainly heard about Kuwait and had seen pictures of it during the Gulf War.
In addition, Mr Behar was very interested in expanding his international
operations. His main concerns included the image of Starbucks International
and profitability. Although curious, he had a number of misgivings about
expansion into the Middle East.
Starbucks International enters
Kuwait
Dianne H.B. Welsh, Peter Raven and Nasser Al-Mutair
Eastern Washington University, Spokane, Washington, USA
Speciality coffees
As Mr Behar stepped out of the plane, Nasser met him and escorted him
rapidly through customs and the unfamiliar airport. After a brief tour of the
city in a chauffeured Mercedes limousine, they arrived at a small restaurant
near the center of town for some refreshments. Behar was taken with the
unique beauty of Kuwait City.
The restaurant was a rather small, nondescript locale. They began to talk
about the trip and other small talk, when Mr Behar suddenly said, “I really
would like to try some of your traditional coffee.” Nasser said, “Yes, we
have excellent Arabian coffee. This restaurant also serves French Press and
Turkish coffees. You should try some Turkish coffee. It will be different
from coffees youve had in other places.” Mr Behar said, “Yes. Its been a
long time since I have had Turkish coffee.” Nasser ordered some for both of
them.
While waiting for his coffee, Mr Behar was able to observe the restaurant
which reminded him of some of the restaurants in Italy where Mr Howard
Schultz, President of Starbucks, first got the idea for Starbucks coffee shops.
The coffee was soon served. He had forgotten how good this coffee was and
how it resembled straight espresso in texture and strength. He thought to
himself, this is either a very good sign for our coffee-shops – the Kuwaitis
already like richer, stronger coffee, or it could be a bad sign in that they
might not want another choice. He listened attentively