Colombia's Juan Valdez Taking on Starbucks in NY

By Matthew Verrinder

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Colombian coffee icon Juan Valdez will lead his country's growers' federation into Manhattan on Tuesday to open its first New York coffee shop, and market watchers are wondering whether the challenge to Starbucks Corp. will amount to a hill of beans.

The National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers plans to open its first Juan Valdez coffee shop at Lexington Avenue and 57th St. on Tuesday in a modest challenge to Starbuck's dominance of the gourmet coffee shop market.

Industry experts said that while Starbucks has suffocated many smaller rivals in the New York market with its 179 shops, the Juan Valdez brandname known to millions through television advertising of Colombian coffee sold in supermarkets does give the new venture a fighting chance.

"The demand continues to be strong for coffee consumption away from home," said Matthew DiFrisco, a restaurant analyst for Harris Nesbitt. "In this increasing market share, Juan Valdez is a good name to have."

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