Globalisation hits Vietnam where Starbucks mutates to Starblacks

December 7, 2003

By Bloomberg

Needing a late-day Java jolt in Ho Chi Minh City, you spot the ubiquitous circular green-and-black logo. You step inside, saunter up to the counter and suddenly realise: this isn't Starbucks!

Welcome to Starblacks, a Starbucks clone popular with this city's young hipsters. There aren't any Starbucks outlets here, and that's just fine. Vietnamese coffee is way better than the stuff served up by those Seattle-based outfits.

Vietnam has seen its share of Western clones. There's the chain of fake 7-Eleven stores that's come and gone in recent years. And if you think you've happened upon a Pizza Hut, look closely - while the sign may look identical, it's Pizza Inn. Locals hawk Hard Rock Hanoi T-shirts, although Vietnam doesn't have a Hard Rock Cafe.

All this says much about how this nation of 80 million is embracing globalisation on its own terms. Walking through Vietnam's cacophonous cities leaves little doubt folks are hungry for their share of global prosperity. They want the benefits that come from the increased movement of capital, goods and people.

They just don't want a McDonald's on every corner.

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