High operating costs and tight customer budgets have left US coffee giant Starbucks needing a caffeine hit after it abandoned ambitious expansion plans in South Africa — seen as a foothold for the continent. Starbucks looked set to take the country by storm when the opening of its first store in the Rosebank district of Johannesburg in April 2016 attracted big crowds who queued for hours to taste their famous coffee and enjoy the cafe experience. Local licensee Taste Holdings has opened 12 Starbucks cafes across Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban.
