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Society for Case Research

CAFEBRITT: A COSTA RICA PRIDE

Issam A. Ghazzawi, University of LaVeme

This case was prepared by the author and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. The views presented here are those of the author based on his professional judgment and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society for Case Research, Copyright © 2014 by the Society for Case Research and the author. No part of this work may be reproduced or used in arty form or by any means without the written permission of the Society for Case Research.

"Add value, and look for your economic reason for being. Nobody'U ever pay you if you're not adding value.. .I'm a commercial guy, a trader. I just happen to be in the high end of the market. The future of coffee here is niches, finding things that other people aren't doing."

Steven Aronson Founder, Café Britt

It was a beautiful, sunny October day in 2011 in Herridia, Costa Rica. Managers of Café Britt, Costa Rica's leading supplier and retailer of gourmet coffee, chocolates, and gifts sat in the Don Prospero Restaurant listening to chief executive officer, Pablo Vargas, and the company's president and chairman of the board, Philippe Aronson, review the state of the company. The successful opening of the first Café Brit in 2001 store in San Jose's International Airport led to its international expansion. The company opened its first international shop in the Lima, Peru airport in 2005. Next, the company opened stores in eight other countries including its latest ventures in the International Airport of the Americas in the capital city of Santo Domingo, and in the airports of Samaná and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic in early August 2011.

After eight consecutive years of an exceptional growth fueled by online gourmet coffee orders and international expansion. Café Britt had experienced a downturn in revenues in 2009, prior to a second round of grovd;h. While managers were convinced that Britt's foreign operations had transformed the company into a truly international company, they felt it was time to refiect and re-visit the growth strategy. Pablo and his management team wanted to design an organizational structure to help manage Britt's explosive growth, while effectively managing its international operations.

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Britt: The Creation of a Brand

The young Steven Aronson never knew that one day he would settle in Central America. Steve had been a passionate coffee lover and an avid coffee broker. Bom in the Bronx area of New York City, he came to Costa Rica in 1977 from Ecuador as a coffee broker and exporter for a UK-based commodity trader. Aronson, a "self-confessed child of the Vietnam War" was fascinated with the fact that Costa Rica has not had an army since 1948. Mr. Aronson recalled his dissatisfaction when he had a cup of coffee at the historical Gran Hotel Costa Rica in the capital San Jose, and refiected on the need to provide a good cup of coffee to tourists and hotel visitors especially in the good hotels of a coffee-producing nation. He was determined to pursue this idea.

While Aronson continued his role as a broker and an exporter of green coffee beans, he started Café Britt in 1985 to supply coffee to the gourmet market. The company was incorporated in Curaçao^ at a later time and adopted Grupo Brift, N.V. as its incorporated name.

Aronson's business philosophy was described as: "Add value, and look for your economic reason for being. Nobody will ever pay you if you're not adding value" (Aronson, 2004). With a forward thinking mission to roast the best beans from the country's best coffee plantations, Britt became a brand that helped make Costa Rica a new kind of coffee wonderland. In the mid- nineties, Britt expanded its product offerings to include coffee-related confections.

In addition to numerous awards. Café Britt was awarded the 2003 Innovation Award by the Costa Rican Chamber of Commerce. It was also named as one of the 100 most admired companies in Central America by Summa Magazine in 2004. Additionally, it was named as the third most competitive company in Latin America among the region's top 100 in 2005 and awarded the Overall Excellence Award for outstanding performance in leadership, customer service, processes, envirormient, innovation, and human resources by the Costa Rica's Chamber of Industries in 2006.

An Overview of the Coffee Industry

Coffee at a Glance

Coffee became the most widely traded, fropical, agricultural commodity in the world. In the global market, coffee and tea manufacturers generated about $70 billion in annual sales. The world's top green coffee producing countries were and still are Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. In 2009/10, coffee crops were valued at about U.S. $15.4 billion. The Exporting Members of the Intemational Coffee Organization (ICO), some 70 countries^ were responsible for over 97 percent of the world output. In 2010, the coffee industry employed an estimated 26 million people in 52 producing countries (Intemational Coffee Organization, n.d.). See Appendices A, B, and C for facts on world coffee production; green coffee bean exports; and total coffee exports by country. See also Figure 1 for global coffee export.

The worldwide coffee consumption of coffee in the year 2009/10 totaled around 133.9 million bags, of which 72 million bags were consumed in the Importing Member countries, 21.2 million

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in non-member countries, and 40.7 million in producing countries. See Appendices D and E for world coffee consumption and total coffee imports by country.

Figure 1. Global Coffee Exports - International Coffee Organization, 2010

Brazil, 3

F "-Quatemsls,

ï ,3%

?%•-''' I I '"india, 4%

i, m

Source: Hoovers-Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (2012). Retrieved July 22,2012 from Hoovers.com.

Since tbe early 1980s, consumption has increased by an average of 1.2 percent annually. Japan bad tbe largest increase of coffee consumption, averaging some 3.5 percent a year tbat made it the third largest importer of coffee in the world (Intemational Coffee Organization, n.d). Unlike Japan, market growth in Europe has been weak in the last five years or so. In fact, coffee consvimption in Europe showed signs of stagnation and possible decline. At the same time, the U.S. situation was a little better; the consumption of coffee grew at a low rate despite the boom in the specialty sector (Intemational Coffee Organization, n.d).

The supply of and the price paid for the green coffee beans always depended on a few major factors including the weather in the growing coimtry; the political and economic conditions of grower covintries; and the influence of trade organizations (e.g., the Intemational Coffee Organization) that restricted coffee beans supply and controlled prices to protect the growers. While coffee manufacturing and distributing companies may have relied on just a single estate (grower) for a particular type of coffee; coffee shops, in particular, depended on the supply ofthe higher-priced Arabica coffee beans needed to make their premium coffee (Hoovers-Coffee and Tea Manufacturing, 2012).

In the U.S., the coffee and tea manufacturing industry included about 300 companies with combined annual revenues of about $9 billion. The major companies that manufactured coffee (and tea) included: "Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Farmer Bros, as well as divisions of the JM Smucker Company (Folgers), and Kraft Foods (Maxwell House). The industry is highly concentrated: the top 50 companies generate more than 90 percent of revenue." Coffee

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comprised close to 86% of the aforementioned figure of $9 billion, while roasted coffee accounted for 75%, and coffee concentrates 11% percent. Tea, on the other hand came in at 13% (Hoovers-Coffee and Tea Manufacturing, 2012).

According to a Fair Trade USA report that was released in April 2012, the U.S. imports of Fair 4Trade Certified coffee increased 32% in 2011 fi-om the previous year (Hoovers-Coffee and Tea

Manufacturing, 2012).

The U.S. coffee consumer segment included grocery stores, grocery wholesalers, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, drugstores, and specialty food stores; the U.S. coffee shop industry included about 20,000 stores with combined annual revenue of about $10 billion. The U.S. coffee shop industry is very concentrated. Its major players included Caribou Coffee, International Coffee & Tea (The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf), Peet's Coffee, and Starbucks. The top 50 companies generated more than 70 percent of the U.S. coffee shop sales. In fact, Starbucks dominated the coffee shop industry; it virtually saturated the market in some areas (Hoovers- Coffee and Tea Manufacturing, 2012).

Coffee shops have faced stringent competition fiom a growing number of fast-food chains and fast-service restaurant chains that have realized the benefits of adding premium coffee drinks at lower prices. In addition, the growing bakery cafés that specialized in breakfast items, baked products, and coffee drinks presented another source of competition to the coffee shops. Finally, gas stations and convenience stores added more competition by offering gourmet coffee (Hoovers-Coffee and Tea Manufacturing, 2012).

The Origin and the Documented History of Coffee

Legend has it that a sixth century Ethiopian goat herder in the province of Kaffa became disoriented when he discovered that his goats were showing unusual energy after consuming a particular kind of cherry. The herder tried the delicately sweet cherries, and experienced increased energy levels as well. Thus the plant became regionally famous with coffee cherry plantations fiourishing in Yemen. Later, the Arabs discovered a means of extracting a brew fi-om the cherries, which was then turned into a beverage. By 900 AD, coffee had become a popular plant and a common drink in the entire region of Arabia. From this period until 1500 AD, coffee farming practices were a well-kept secret, although coffee beans were already being exported to other places (Grierson, 2006).

According to a recorded history of coffee:

The fi-uit of the plant, known as coffee cherries, was eaten by slaves taken fi'om present day Sudan into Yemen and Arabia through the great port of its day. Mocha. Coffee was certainly being cultivated in Yemen by the 15"̂ century and probably much earlier. In an attempt to prevent its cultivation elsewhere, the Arabs imposed a ban on the export of fertile coffee beans, a restriction that was eventually circumvented in 1616 by the Dutch, who brought live coffee plants back to the Netherlands to be grown in greenhouses (International Coffee Organization, n.d., para 1).

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At the time, the authorities in Yemen encouraged coffee growing and consumption. According to tradition and record, the first coffeehouses or kaveh kanes opened in Mecca and eventually spread throughout the Arab world. Arabian coffeehouses became the center of male social gatherings, entertainment, and places to conduct business. Over time, however, Arabian coffeehouses also became centers of political activity, which led to their eventual suppression. Through several decades, while authorities aftempted various bans against coffeehouses, they continued to reappear—a sign of a culturally inhibited phenomenon (International Coffee Organization, n.d.).

The Spread of the Coffee Plant to India, Java (Indonesia) and Europe

In the late 1600s, the Dutch grew coffee in Dutch Malabar, or Cochin, in the northern district of Kerala, a state in the south of India (International Coffee Organization, n.d.).^ In 1699, the Dutch took some plants to Batavia, Java, in what is now Indonesia.^

Although coffee was brought and introduced to Europe by the Venetian traders in 1615, the Dutch colonies had become the main suppliers of coffee to Europe. In old Europe, coffee was believed to have medicinal properties and was mainly sold by street vendors. The first known European coffeehouse opened in 1720 in the frescoed and historical Cafïè Florian, which sat on the perimeter of the famed Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy (International Coffee Organization, n.d.). Unknown to most, Lloyd's of London, the world's largest insurance company, was initially instituted as a coffeehouse by Edward Lloyd in 1688. At the time, Britain became known as the chief slave trading power in the Atlantic. As the trade grew dangerous and British vessels were lost, insurance became necessary. Given that Edward Lloyd's coffeehouse was a popular meeting establishment, it evolved to become the recognized place to obtain maritime insurance for both ships and cargo. Pioneerkig evolvement into a specialty insurance market continues to make Lloyd's recognizable worldwide (Lloyd's.com/About-us/History, n.d.).

Coffee in the Americas

Coffee plants were easily spread throughout Central and South America by the Dutch after it fn:st arrived in 1718 in the Dutch colony of Surinam. From there, plantations were established in French Guyana and then into the state of Para in Brazil. In 1730, the British brought the coffee plant to Jamaica's Blue Mountains where the most famous and expensive coffee in the world is still being grown (International Coffee Organization, n.d.).

In 1720, a French naval officer by the name of Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu, brought the coffee plant to Martinique, a French island in the Caribbean Sea. Planted in Preebear, a former plantation town, the tree grew and multiplied. By 1777, experts believe that there were between 18 and 19 million coffee trees on Martinique, which helped create a major source of national income (International Coffee Organization, n.d.).

Coffee beans came to North America in 1668, and soon thereafter coffee houses were established in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and other towns. The Boston Tea Party'' of 1773 was plaxmed at the Green Dragon coffeehouse in Boston. Additionally, both the New York Stock Exchange and the Bank of New York started in coffeehouses hi what is today known as Wall Street (Raphael, 2010; The Coffee House Press, n.d.).

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While the 17*̂ and 18* centuries witnessed the successful establishment of sugar plantations (fazendas) in Brazil, the weakening of sugar prices in the 1820s led to the migration of labor and capital to the southeast regions where coffee growing had been flourishing since 1774 in the Paraiba Valley. In fact, the 1830s saw Brazil as the world's chief coffee producer at 600,000 bags a year (60-kilogram per a bag). Next in line were Cuba, Java, and Haiti with annual productions of 350,000-450,000 bags per year each, resulting in a total, global production of 2.5 million bags annually (International Coffee Organization, n.d.).

The rapid expansion of production in Brazil, Java, and other coffee producing countries led to a major worldwide price decline of coffee beans. However, it leveled in the late 1840s and peaked in the 1890s. The strong world demand encouraged the growth of coffee cultivation in other regions in the Americas such as Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, and Colombia (International Coffee Organization, n.d.).

Coffee was introduced to Colombia in early 1723 by Jesuit priests. However, civil strife and the inaccessibility of fertile coffee-growing regions hampered the growth of the Colombian coffee industry. Nevertheless, between 1899 and 1902, following cessation of hostilities after the "Thousand Days War," Colombians turned to coffee as their economic salvation. The larger plantations or "haciendas," dominated the upper Magdalena river regions of Cundinamarca and Tolima, while the country's peasants planted coffee in the mountainous regions to the west, in Antioquia and Caldas. New railways, relying on coffee for profit, allowed more coffee to be grown and transported. The opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 permifted the exports from Colombia's previously tonreachable Pacific Coast, which gave the port of Buenaventura an increasing importance (International Coffee Organization, n.d.).

Colombian coffee became increasingly popular with American and European consumers, and by 1905, Colombia was exporting 500,000 bags per year which was doubled by 1915. In the meantime, Brazil desperately tried to control its overproduction. During the same period. Central American countries exported 1.2 million bags to the U.S. up from 302,000 bags. (International Coffee Organization, n.d.).

During this period, the liberation/decolonization process taking place after the end of World War II helped some newly independent African nations such as Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi to export coffee (International Coffee Organization, n.d.).

In United States, the demand for coffee consumption in the 20*̂ century continued to grow reaching a peak in 1946 with an annual per capita consumption of 19.8 pounds, double the consumption in 1900. This increase came despite the political, social, and economic challenges of the period. The U.S. increase in coffee demand came at a time of high global prices, and thus led to an expansion of coffee production throughout the world coffee-growing regions (International Coffee Organization, n.d.).

Seattle, Oregon had become synonymous with a new type of café culture and an improved coffee beverage. The new café culture has spread to the rest of the world, even to countries with great coffee traditions of their own, such as Italy. The American café shop model has spread worldwide from Paris to Tokyo to Barcelona and even to Cairo. While society's consumption of

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coffee has increased dramatically, what has become crucial is the exposure to the diversity of café culture (Intemational Coffee Organization, n.d.).

As a commodity, the coffee had become very important to the world economy. Next to cmde oil, coffee had become the most sought after comumodity, placing ahead of what used to be considered top global commodities including natural gas, gold, sugar, com, steel, and wheat. With more than $100 billion in sales, coffee exporting alone became a $20 billion dollar industry {Business Insider, 2011).

Its cultivation, processing, trading, transportation, and marketing provide employment for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Coffee is crucial to the economies and politics of many developing countries; for many of the world's Least Developed Countries, exports of coffee account for more than 50 percent of their foreign exchange earnings. Coffee is a traded commodity on major futures and commodity exchanges, most importantly in London and New York (Intemational Coffee Organization, n.d. Para 13).

Produced mostly hi developing coimtries, coffee was consumed mostly by industrialized nations. Present Worldwide consumption had been estimated at over 500 billion cups of coffee every year (Intemational Coffee Organization, n.d.).

Coffee Growing and Development in Costa Rica

Costa Rica, or República de Costa Rica, which in Spanish means, "Rich Coast," is located in Central America.^ It is bordered in the north by Nicaragua, in the east by the Caribbean Sea, in the south by Panama, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean. The country's climate provides the perfect conditions for growing some of the boldest, high-quality coffee beans in the world.

Enriched with volcanic ash, Costa Rican soil received a slight degree of acidity and organic matter that helped the coffee plants retain humidity and facilitate oxygénation. Such characteristics contributed to the high quality of Costa Rican coffee. By law of the Republic, Costa Rica was the only country where only the Arabica varieties could be grown (Intemational Coffee Organization, n.d.).

The Arabica Coffee seeds came to Costa Rica in the early 18th century (See Figure 2 for an image of the Arabica coffee plant). From their initial arrival, prominent Costa Ricans contributed to the development of Arabica beans in the country. According to Costa Rica's documented history, "Around 1790-1804, Govemor Tomás de Acosta imported 6 lbs. of green coffee beans for planting from Panamá in 1808. Shortly thereafter. Father Félix Velarde began to cultivate the coffee beans in his garden, encouraging his neighbors in San José to plant coffee in their gardens, as well. Thus, cultivation of coffee in Costa Rica was begun, especially around the Central Valley near San Jose." (Tico Todds, n.d., para 1).

Costa Rican officials at the time supported the establishment of the country's coffee industry. Indeed, the first two heads of state, Juan Mora Femández and Braulio Carrillo, envisioned coffee as a product that would develop Costa Rica's economy (SCACR, 2013). Costa Ricans' interest in coffee cultivation increased as soon as the first coffee plants multiplied to 17,000 coffee

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producing trees in 1821. Coffee exportation began in 1820, when Costa Rica exported its first two quintals of coffee to Panama (SCACR, 2013).

Figure 2. An Arabica Coffee Plant from the Central Valley

Picture Credit: Sarah Simon (November 16, 2011). Used with permission.

To help develop and promote this infant industry, Costa Rican authorities implemented a series of measures, most notably:

1821: The Municipality of San José distributed fi-ee coffee plants among residents; 1825: The Government exempted coffee fi-om tithe payments; 1831: The National Assembly decreed that anyone who grew coffee for five years on idle

land could claim ownership ofthe land; 1840: A decree was issued to plant coffee on the undeveloped land to the west of San

José (Pavas) (Café de Costa Rica, 2011).

The whole country was designated as a coffee growing region; particular regions of Costa Rica provided a premium quality and a better tasting bean. Such differences resulted fiom soil acidity and body. Additionally, high altitudes played a major role in the quality ofthe beans. The finest beans were typically grovra at altitudes of 1,200 to 1,700 meters (i.e., 3,940-5,575 feet). The most productive coffee growing regions in Costa Rica were the provinces of Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago, and San Jose, especially around the area of Tarrazu (see Table 1 for Costa Rica's Coffee Growing Regions) (Aventura, 2011).

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TABLE 1

Costa Rica 's Coffee Growing Regions

Region

Tarrazu

Tres fó

Orosí

Bninca

Turrialba

Altitude Harvest Season

West VaUey 3940-5575 feet Nov. - March

Central Valley 3940-5250 feet Nov. - March

3940-5575 feet Dec. - March

3940-5400 feet Dec. - March

2950-3940 feet Sep. - February

2620-3940 feet August - January

1970-2950 feet July-Dec

Quality of Crop

High fine acidity Very good body Very good aroma High fine acidity Good body Good aroma High fine acidity Very good body Very good aroma High fine acidity Very good body Very good aroma Good acidity Good body Good aroma Normal acidity Normal body Normal aroma Normal acidity Little body Good aroma

Source: Aventura (2011). This table was retrieved on May 28,2012 from: http://www.aventuLra-cafe.com/costarica- eng.htm.

The commercialization of coffee began in 1832, when Don Jorge Stiepel first exported coffee to Chile, and 10 years later. Captain William Le Lâcheur started direct trade with English ports. In 1843, Le Lâcheur made the trip fi'om London to Puntarenas on a ship named the Monarch to transport a shipment of 5,005 quintals of coffee, which marked the largest amount of coffee exported fi-om Costa Rica at that time. Afterward, other fi-eighters full of coffee sailed to England. In 1860, the country shipped its first shipment of coffee to the United States weighing almost 25% of total coffee exports (Cartmell, n.d.).

Throughout the country's history, coffee has been a fundamental pillar of the Costa Rican society, and the driving force behind its economic revival and development. Not surprisingly, Costa Ricans called it "the golden bean." (SCACR, 2013). The "golden bean" development, cxxltivation, and world trade success brought an unprecedented economic, social, and cultural surge. It helped the country's underdeveloped infiastructure improve dramatically.

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According to the recorded history of coffee development in Costa Rica:

Associated with the coffee boom were many advances in development, including the founding of banks (with a combination of British and Costa Rican capital), the construction and improvement of roads and port facilities, the establishment of the country's first telegraph system which connected Cartago with Puntarenas (via San José, Alajuela, and Heredia), and the building of the nation's first railway linking Alajuela, San José, and Cartago. Even the construction of the country's premier architectural showpiece, the National Theater, can be traced to the prosperity brought by coffee production (Goepel,2012,para5).

Coffee has accounted for 11 percent of Costa Rica's total export revenue and 2.6 percent of the world's coffee production. The country has become a key regional player with a production accounting for 20 percent of the entire coffee production of Central America (SCACR, 2013).

An Overview of the Confections Industry

Confections at a Glance

According to the National Confectioners Association, candy had a long history of adding joy to holiday celebrations all over the world. In the U.S., an estimated 25% of confectionery spending usually occurred around four major holidays, i.e. Halloween, Easter, Christmas and Valentine's Day. While confectionery sales in the U.S. accounted for $29.4 billion in 2010, an increase of 2.8% over 2009, chocolate sales contributed to 60% of all confectionery sales (Profile of the U.S. Candy Industry, n.d.). The U.S. candy manufacturing industry included about 1,600 companies. The major companies included The Hershey Company, Mars, Tootsie Roll Industries, and Russell Stover Candies (NCA, n.d.).

The industry composed of three major segments: (1) Companies that made chocolate from beans, (2) companies that made chocolate candies and (3) companies that made non-chocolate candies. All of these three segments were concentrated. Confections manufacturing facilities were located in over 40 states. However, the states that had the highest concentration of manufacturers were Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Ohio, and California (NCA,

To drive sales, growth, and increase market share, new products were critical for confection companies. As concerns grew, confections manufacturers introduced more healthy products to the market, such as healthy snacks, diet offerings, fortified products, and premium and organic chocolate (Hoovers- Candy Manufacturing, n.d.).

Industry Concentration

Again, the fact was that the confections industry was concentrated in a few big companies. The major confections companies included Mars, Incorporated (located in Mclean, VA); Meiji Holdings Co. Ltd. (located in Tokyo, Japan); Cadbury Ltd. (located in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England); Cargill B. V. (located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands); the Hershey Company (located

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in Hershey, PA), as well as a few others who collectively dominated the world's market (Hoovers- Candy Manufacturing, n.d.).

In the U.S., Hershey and Mars dominated the U.S. chocolate candy segment. Accordingly, smaller companies lacked scale advantages in purchasing, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution. Consumers frequently purchased confections products based on brand recognition, and that made it difficult for smaller companies to grow and compete (Hoovers-Candy Manufacturing, n.d.). Additionally, as large companies moved ftorther towards production of low sugar chocolates, organic, and premium; this move further put more stains on smaller companies.

Café BHtt: Company Overview

Britt is located in Heredia, a colonial town about an hour's drive from San Jose. Although Heredia had been damaged by various earthquakes over the centuries, it remained a charming own and was much more intact than other towns of the same vintage in Costa Rica. The path to Heredia was flanked by farms, coffee plantations, and colorful homes from which generations of Costa Rican farmers had eked out a subsistence living. See Figure 3 for location and an area map.

Figure 3. Café Britt Location and an Area Map

Source: Café Britt. The above image was used with permission of Café Britt

From its beginning in 1985, Café Britt processed and sold premium coffees from Costa Rica, Mexico, and Peru. Its products varied from light, medium, dark, and espresso roasts as well as decaffeinated and certified organic beans. The name "Britt" is Scandinavian and means "the good one" or "the exalted one." According to Vargas, company's CEO: "Scandinavian countries, back at the time, consumed the world's best coffee beans. Mr. Aronson wanted a name that

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would evoke quality.. .it was Britt" (2011). The name sent a message to the industry in the sense that this coffee was suited for the most discriminating customers in the world.

Aronson roasted the strictly hard coffee beans. Strictly hard beans (SHB) grew at altitudes higher than 4,500 feet above sea level and were known by coffee experts to have the inherent consistency and taste attributes of high grown beans. Said beans were usually more desirable, and generally more expensive than coffees grown at lower elevations.^

Right after its incorporation in the mid-eighties. Café Britt got into the espresso business. At that time, Costa Rica probably had only three espresso machines. Steven decided to become the first representative of "La Pavoni," an Italian manufacturer of espresso and cappuccino coffee machines. He had to buy 10 machines and all the spare parts to get the representation. It took him three years to sell them all (Aronson, 2004). Back then, no one knew anything about cappuccinos, espresso, lattes, or even goimnet coffee. A determined Steve knew that educating customers was the key.

Laughingly, he remembered a survey from the early 1980s when U.S. consumers named Italy as the worid's number two coffee producer (after Brazil) (Aronson, 2004). The Italians were and continued to be the masters of roasting and blending Brazilian and Robusta coffees (known as Coffea Canephora or Coffea Robusta);^" however, coffee had never been grown in Italy (Aronson, 2004).

While at a specialty coffee association convention in the U.S. in 1998, a representative of La Cimbali, an Italian manufacturer of espresso machines, asked Aronson to represent them. La Cimbali set up training courses for Aronson and others in Milan. Immediately, Mr. Aronson created a five-person department dedicated to selling and servicing espresso machines all over the Americas and the Caribbean. They set up two friU-fiedged espresso bars, one at Britt in Heredia and the second at the Costa Rica's historic National Theater in downtown San Jose' (Aronson, 2004).

Reñecting on the espresso idea, Aronson stated:

That little "semi-idea" we had in the 1980s about espresso, has finally kicked in here at home. We're selling 200 machines a year. The era of "After Espresso" (A.E.) has arrived. Today Costa Ricans have had a real change of attitude about specialty coffee. To their parents, an espresso machine was an oddball thing. This generation thinks it's cool to have a cappuccino or an espresso. A new hotel wouldn't dream of opening here without having espresso on the menu. Café Britt has had a real part in the espresso revolution. At some point along the way, espresso stopped being an Italian thing, an ethnic thing. And, it became a great way to enjoy coffee (Aronson, 2004, Para 9-11).

For over 20 years, Britt has been one of very few organic coffee producers in Costa Rica. The country had strict mies for organic certification. To be certified as an organic grower, "you have to avoid using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides for three years" (Luxner, 2003: para, 25). In addition to four acres of its own coffee growing fields, the company had purchased

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green coffee beans fi-om a few cooperatives as well as fi-om some small- and medium-sized growers in Central Valley, Tres Rios, and Tarrazu (Luxner, 2003).

Looking to grow and build on Britt's success, Aronson handpicked Pablo Vargas, whom he had first met as a graduate student fiom Michigan State University in 1990, where he was doing an M.S. thesis on the intemational coffee market. After completing his graduate education (two masters' degrees, one in agricultural economics and one in business) fiom the Eli Broad Graduate College of Business at Michigan State University, in 1992, Steve hired Pablo and after assigning him different responsibilities at the company, he named him his CEO in 2000. Aronson, Vargas, and the Britt team worked hard to ensure that their gourmet coffee was the best in the country and in Central America. They wanted the locals as well as the visitors to taste Costa Rica's finest coffee beans that were not available before. They wanted tourists to remember and to purchase the Britt coffee brand via mail order long after their Costa Rican vacation was over. Aronson proudly noted that Britt had been an important player in the tourism industry as well as in the coffee industry. Britt's promotion budget was running around 5% of its sales (Luxner, 2003).

Britt Markets and Customers

During the late 1980s and through 1990s, Britt supplied green or roasted coffee beans to major U.S. companies and supermarkets including Wal-Mart, Target, Seattle Best Coffee, Starbucks, and Legal Seafood Restaurants. However, Britt's supply and sales attempts to supermarket giants, such as Wal-Mart and Target, were not successful as indicated by the slow movement of its products fiom shelves. Aronson and his team realized later that their export business had to change. Supermarket giants were looking for a high tumover item. Gourmet coffee is not for everyone, and Britt shifted its strategy and efforts to people. Aronson described it as follows:

Our main business, around 55% of the total, is exporting roasted coffee and local distribution to supermarkets and hotels... Our customers are hotels and restaurants in St. Thomas, Curaçao, St. Maarten and Aniba. And we're now a registered supplier to Puerto Rico. The biggest area of our exports is our web and mail-order business. We have a toU-fiee number (1-800) and call center here (Luxner, 2003, para. 11).

The company developed an in-house warehouse/logistics system with four main components: (1) stores' special orders, supplies, and new products, (2) retums of damaged and/or expired products, (3) seasonal purchasing/re-stocking of warehouse inventories, and (4) restocking of Britt's stores based on the scanned sales.

In 2004, Café Britt was the winner of the BizRate.com's Circle of Excellence Gold Honorée. This award recognized outstanding customer service for an online retailer that excelled at customer satisfaction with ratings above the industry average in seven key categories (i.e. on- time delivery, overall satisfaction, selection of products, customer support, product ftilfiUment of expectations, and customer repurchase intent.

Reflecting on Britt's failed attempts to sell and compete in big shops and countries, and its shift to focus on individuals, Aronson said:

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í We sell to people with a first and a last name. We recognize that we are a small player from a small country, and that we have to pick our markets and niches. Those times that we have thought of ourselves as a big player, we have lost. We are much more interested in Riga (the capital of Latvia) than Paris, New Zealand more than Australia and Korea more than Japan (The Star, 2009: 2).

Given the development of liberal trade agreements between Central and Latin America countries, Britt created a distribution channel that offered coffee, chocolates, candy, nuts, and cold drinks, in addition to other related products to support regional hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops. It developed a strong commercial customer base that included some of the most prestigious hotels in the Caribbean, Mexico, and in Central America including:

Mexico: JW Marriott Cancun; CasaMagna Marriott Cancun; Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya; and Fairmont Mayakiba.

The Caribbean: Four Seasons Resort Bahamas; Four Seasons Resort Nevis; St. Kitts Marriott Resort; Frenchman's Reef & Morning; Star Marriott, St. Thomas; Hyatt Regency Trinidad; CuisineArt Resort, Anguilla; and Rosewood Little Dix Bay, Virgin Gorda.

Chile: Santiago Marriott Hotel.

Peru: JW Marriott Lima; Hotel Monasterio (Orient Express Hotel); Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge (Orient Express Hotel); SwissOtel Lima; and Libertador Hotels (Puno-Arequipa-Cuzco).

Costa Rica: Four Seasons Resort; Real Intercontinental; Los Suefios Marriott; Ocean & Golf Resort; Hotel Puenta Islita; and Tabacon Grand Spa.

Additionally, and through its phone and online ordering, thousands of people around the world ordered its coffee. Britt promoted its online business via its "Coffee Lovers Club" website at www.cafebritt.com. To reach out to coffee lovers worldwide, the company created a team of five professionals who worked to improve its site and converted it into a virtual store that offered a broader product choice. Britt's website has been continuously updated with relevant company information, product information, and promotional offers. In 1995, Britt introduced Licor de Café, a product which competed with Mexico's Kahlua, Jamaica's Tia Maria and Costa Rica's first coffee liqueur called Café Rica.

The Changing of the Guard at Britt

In October 2009, Steven resigned his post as chairman of the board, his son Philippe who served as the company's commercial manager became the new chairman. On his resigning as the chairman of the board, Steve stated:

I have to admit that it's sort of hard for me not to run things. I've been running companies for over 20 years, even before Café Britt. But part ofthat privilege is knowing when it's time to move on. It's time to let these younger men take the lead. And as long as I'm the boss, it's sort of hard for that to happen. I've always been the entrepreneurial guy. At 62, I've got to say I still am and plan

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to be for a while. My title and Britt nametag will change to "Founder," a post from which I can never resign (Aronson, 2009, para 5 & 6).

While a teenager, the young Philippe began his coffee journey by handing out coffee samples at the San Jose (Juan Santamaria) International Airport. Over the years, he followed in his father's footsteps by working in the coffee business in Costa Rica; Seattle, WA; Brazil; Nicaragua; and Peru. Philippe was credited for the company's expansion into Peru and Chile.

Competitors

In 2011, Cafe Britt was the fifth largest coffee manufacturer and distributor in Costa Rica. It was well established in the niche area of the gourmet coffee business unlike its larger Costa Rican competitors, namely: Café Rey, Cia Numar, Café Volio, and Café Dorado (in order of the respective market share). While the larger competitors were very strong in the local market, offering a wide variety of high quality coffee at affordable prices, Britt had distinguished itself as the seller of coffee and souvenir products through its "Brift shops." Britt continued to successfully expand its business by selling gourmet coffee as well as other products domestically and worldwide through website. It also added its own coffee tour.

The Coffee Tour

Britt in Heredia received many visitors, who were interested in touring the plantation and learning more about coffee. In 1991, Aronson introduced "the Breft Coffee Tour," which was inaugurated on November 15, 1991 and was aftended by the then Costa Rican President Rafael Angel Calderón (Vargas, 2012; Luxner, 2003). The purpose of the Breft Coffee Tour was to tell the story of the coffee. The tour guides "Jose" and his girlfriend "Marielitos," who were supposedly plantation workers, usually led a group of visitors (mostly tourists) into Britt's plantation to showed them how to pick ripe coffee beans and tasted the juice, then moved to the coffee plant designed to educate them on how the coffee bean was cultivated, roasted, and processed.

Afterwards, Jose, who was casually dressed in jeans, and Marielitos, who wore a sundress, an apron, and a scarf over her hair, were joined by Don Prospero and all three performed a theatrical play inside an air-conditioned auditorium. The play told the story of the coffee through a musical-comedy show that took the audience back in time to Ethiopia, where coffee was originated, and then brought to Costa Rica to show them how coffee infiuenced the country's culture. The audience was also taught how to taste and judge a good cup of coffee. It took some time for a visitor to realize that tour guides were not plantation workers but professional actors (See also Luxner, 2003).

Salvador Solis, who played Don Prospero in Britt's musical-comedy show, told the audience "By law, all coffee in Costa Rica must be Arabica, not Robusta. Arabica beans are sweeter, have less caffeine, and get befter prices on the international market. If you plant anything else, the Costa Rican authority will close your plantation" (Solis, 2011).

The coffee show ended with an unusual highlight where Marielitos wore the aristocratic 17 century garb complemented with a fiuffy white wig and a pink dress, and posing as the then

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queen of France got married to Jose where the best man and the maid of honor were chosen from the audience. While the ceremony ended with a toast of Brift's Licor de Café, visitors were guided to the Britt store that sold all kinds of Brift coffee, cookies, confectionery, mugs, T-shirts, caps, local handicraft, coffee books, and jewelry, in addition to other local and imported gift items.

Commenting on Café Britt's coffee tour, CEO Pablo Vargas stated, "We look at the coffee tour as a way to connect with potential customers especially prospective on-line customers who eventually might order our products when at home rather than a source of revenue generating method." Since starting the tour, Britt has welcomed over 500,000 visitors from amateurs to coffee lovers to business travelers. The tour had become one of Costa Rica's major tourist attractions (Vargas, 2012).

Organizational Growth: The Britt Way

In the mid-1990's Britt's management felt that the San Jose (Juan Santamaria) International Airport was an ideal place for travelers to and from Costa Rica to find Britt's coffee and other products. At that point, no bids for airport shops were available, and the only souvenir shop that existed in the airport was government owned and operated. Adapting to this Ihnitation, the company was able to get a permission to place a coffee cart where travelers could taste the company's cappuccino, espresso, and other coffee varieties by the cup and buy Brift coffee.

In 2001, Brift won the bid to operate gift shops in Costa Rica's airports. The first gift shop required an investment of $350,000 and was designed by a Café Brift's designer. It opened in San Jose's Juan Santamaria International Airport on May 5, 2005. The Britt shop concept grew beyond expectations. Out of a belief that the nature of any business was global in scope and had no boundaries. Café Britt implemented an international expansion plan. This plan involved exporting its business model in addition to exporting its products.

Britt in Peru

In 2005, Brift won the concession for significant retail area at the Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru. That signaled the start of a new era for Café Brift. Right after signing the management contract, the company initiated a successful 9-month plan aimed at entering the Peruvian market.

The plan started with the creation of a core team from several departments who possessed complimentary skills. This team visited Peru and toured the country for several weeks in order to better understand why travelers were attracted to the country. Brift then incorporated these themes into its Peruvian stores. In addition, a coffee roasting facility to process and roast local varieties coffee beans was established. While the company's innovation and development department in Costa Rica worked to develop products with local Peruvian characteristics, the visiting team from Britt established relationships with local artisans and other suppliers of Peruvian products that were identified as appealing to travelers and as potential product offerings in Brift stores. The market entrance to the Peruvian market proved the scalability of the company's business model and its ability to duplicate the model in another country (Vargas 2011 & 2012).

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In 2007, Moodie Report awarded the Café Britt's Lima Jorge Chavez Intemational Airport the "Destination Merchandise Stores of the Year." This award recognized companies as the best destination retail stores worldwide.

After Peru, Britt, a True International Company

Consequently, after Peru (2005), the company pursued a selective group of intemational markets and opened shops in Curacao, Netheriand Antilles (2006), Chile (2007), Miami, Florida (2008), St. Thomas (2008), Antigua and Barbuda (2009), Mexico (2010), and Dominican Republic (2011). In essence, Britt shops became retail concepts that celebrated the local culture of its store locations and offered customers the country's local touch and tradition. At any location, the store ambiance made visitors feel that Britt was a local store and not a Costa Rican one.

Refiecting on the company's intemational success, Pablo Vargas, the company's CEO, said, "We've made mistakes along the way. We've gotten out of some activities and perfected our models for sustainable business. With a high dose of innovation, our business thrives in many countries" (Vargas, 2011 -a, para 3).

The company was able to expand Britt's name into confectionary products, such as its chocolate- covered coffee beans, nuts (including macadamia, cashew, and hazelnuts), and fruits (including: Guava, passion, and lúcuma finit). ^̂ In addition to that, Britt was able to develop its Britt brand in textiles "Morpho"; its gourmet tropical sauce "Jambo"; and Licor de Café. Leveraging its success in products' development, the company continued its efforts in designing non-branded products in the souvenir category.

Under its name brand (Britt Shop); Britt marketed stunning varieties of souvenirs including chocolates, candies, cookies, nuts, coffee mugs, hats, T-shirts, bags, handcrafts, books, and gift boxes in addition to its big display of organic coffee. A Britt shop had a wide selection of English-language books and magazine titles. Britt products were sold at more than 92 duty-free Britt Shops (both kiosks and retail stores) in airports and hotels in nine countries (including Costa Rica) (Vargas, 2011-b). See Appendix F for Britt's map of its intemational locations.

With Aronson's vision and leadership, the small Café Britt company enjoyed a substantial groviUi over the years. It grew from humble revenues of about $25,000 in 1986 to about $90 million in revenues in December 2011. See Figure 4 for Britt's historical revenue for the years 1986-2011. See also Tables 2, 3, and 4 for the company's 2010 and 2011 consolidated financial statement; income statement, and cash fiow statement respectively as of the end of December 2011. According to Vargas (2011-b), what made Britt successful was Aronson's simple business philosophy of, "Add value and look for your economic reason for being."

Pablo Vargas, company's CEO commented by saying, "Being the first, the leader, the innovator- that's part of our DNA at Britt. Our company was founded on action, innovation, quality, and service. They're the keys to our success; the bricks in the foundation of our company."

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Figure 4. Historical Revenues in US $ 000 for the Years 1986-2010 (calendar year).

GrupoBntt, N.V.

Ventas en US$ OOO

1986-2O1O I 9O.41O*

BHtiSttop Sonííogo ^

OPU-ltu I

Ttondas en Siiios \ /

turi tico"; claves I ^.*" '"

en COSIQ RICO I 39 972

T.endo en linir, i jf 27,751 I ,h HI P n, _ ^

2O,777

9,529

2.934 3,726

^67,838

««'' » 60,987 •'64,282

I Int! de S , HrittShop CuröCäO i

* Presupuesto 2O11

Source: Café Britt. The image in the above Figure was used with a permission of Café Britt

A Team Approach to Growth

Team approach was widely used at Britt. Employees not only learned it, but they practiced it on a daily basis. Whatever was needed, from customers support to sourcing and to the introduction of new products to market, teamwork was apparent. The common practice, when opening a new shop, was for the company to create a start-up team that was composed of its CEO and some experienced employees from other locations to train new employees. Reflecting on his opening ofthe Britt shops in the Dominican Republic, Pablo Vargas stated

Our start-up team included coworkers fiom Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, and Chile. Just seeing the impression they made on their new Dominican counterparts affirmed for me what a privilege it is to lead such a competent, creative, committed, and ethical group of people (Vargas, 2011-c, para 3).

In a direct comment on Britt's team, Pablo Vargas told the author "without innovation, we carmot sustain our business." He then surmised, "Irmovation and improvement would never happen if they did not work as a team."

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Building Competitive Advantage Through Organizational Structure and Design

In early stages of its life cycle when Britt was a very small growing company, it utilized a basic fimctional structure to coordinate its activities and motivate its employees. Britt employees were grouped together based on jobs' similarities (for instance production, sales, wholesale distribution finance, etc.). Until 1992, the company was very small and all managers reported to Steven Aronson who acted as the president and CEO. When Pablo Vargas became its CEO in 2000, all mangers became responsible to the new CEO who in-tum reported to the newly formed board of directors; chaired by Steven Aronson (Philippe Aronson became the President and Chah- of the Board in 2009).

As the company grew and its international business became a core, its organizational structure evolved too. Britt moved to a more complex, yet supportive structure. It moved to a hybrid organizational structure, a multi-country divisional/matrix where managers grouped people and resources simultaneously in two ways, by fimction and country or product. Each person reported to a functional manager (e.g., sales) and a country manager (e.g. Peru). Pablo believed that such a structure allowed employees to learn fi-om one another and become more skilled and productive when grouped together by functions. Additionally, it was easy to coordinate countries' operations and empowered countries' managers. The new structure helped Britt to maximize communication and cooperation between various countries' operations and head office teams.

The Britt's head office in Heredia, Costa Rica, maintained all the needed people in charge of functional departments (i.e. planning and budgeting, retail, finance, commercial sales, operations, country management, and IT) in addition to the Chief Executive Officer. As of the end of September 2011, Britt employed over 1,000 people and had revenue of about $90 million in fiscal 2011. See Figure 5 for Britt's Organizational Structure.

The company key executives were:

Name

Philippe Aronson

Pablo E. Vargas

Eduardo Cascante

Bejamin Aronsonn

Esteban Brenes

Guillermo Von Breymarm

Guillermo Groisman

Title

Chairman of the Board

CEO and Director

CFO

IT Manager

Director

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TABLE 2

GRUPO BRUT, N. V AND SUBSIDIARIES Consolidated Statement of financial Position as of December 31, 2011 (with corresponding figures for 2010)

Assets Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents Accounts receivable, net , Due from related parties Inventories, net Prepaid expenses

Total current assets Long-term accounts receivable - coffee machines under finance leases Long-term due from related parties Property, plant and equipment, net Intangible assets, net Other assets, net Equity-accounted investees Deferred tax

Liabilities and Equitv Current liabilities:

Bank loans Loans and borrowing, current installments Accounts payable and accrued expenses Income tax payable Due to related parties

Total current liabilities Loans and borrowings, excluding current installments Deferred tax

Total liabiUties Equity:

Ordinary shares, US$0.01 par value each. Authorized 50,000,000 shares; Issued and outstanding 8,965,741shares

Preferred shares, US$0.01 par value each. Authorized, issued and Outstanding 1,000 shares

Translation reserve Additional paid-in capital Treasury shares, 1,067,259 ordinary shares at cost Revaluation surplus Legal reserve Restricted retained earnings Retained earnings

Total equity

2011

100,000

2010

us$

1IS$

us$

2,129,952 7,291,636

842,405 21,366,933

988,674 32.619.600

- 365,167

24,194,917 6,231,900

554,635

1.939.529 65.905.748

9,198,616 2,169,429 8,248,621

328,832 213.175

20,158,673 25,170,206

998.229 46327.108

4,886,547 5,659,302

733,947 18,699,331

820,308 30.799.435

12,153 670,680

16,215,403 2,867,454

495,251

495.251 52.492.812

14,067,096 3,869,429 6,593,305

631,626 207.754

25,369,210 13,748,357

101.710 39.219.277

100,000

10 (1,031,942)

6,571,952 (5,881,274)

5,283,442 709,081

12,000,000 1,827.371

10 213,068

6,567,467 (5,881,274)

- 580,243

- 11.694.021

19.578.640 13.273.535 US$ 65.905.748 52.492.812

Source: Café Britt. The above information was used with a permission of Café Britt

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TABLE 3

GRUPO BRITT, N V. AND SUBSIDIARIES. Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income as of December 31, 2011 (with corresponding figures for 2010)

Revenue US$ Cost of sales .

Gross profit Operating expenses;

General and administrative Selling Early settlement of contracts with related parties Development of new markets Loss on disposal of productive assets Other operating income, net

Total operating expenses Results from operating activities

Finance costs, net; Finance expense Finance income Translation effect, net

Net finance costs Share of profit (loss) of equity-accounted investees

Profit before income tax Income taxes;

Cxurent Deferred

Total income taxes Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income: Foreign currency translation effect US$ Revaluation of land and buildings * Tax effect on other comprehensive income Other comprehensive income for the year, net of tax

Total comprehensive income for the year Earnings per share:

Basic earnings per share Diluted earnings per share

Source: Café Britt. The above information was used with a permission of Café Britt

2011 88,815,132 35.711.423

(1,245,010) 5,941,116 (657.674)

2010 70,697,616 28.079.194

53.103.709 42.618.422

8,702,585 37,114,416

- 530,763 125,137

(207,203)

8,365,710 27,348,356

2,747,927 1,281,445

72,886 (229,663)

46,265,698 6.838,011

2,344,601 (1,321,243)

(138,641) 884,717 (5.421)

5.947.873

2,291,993 (392,796) 1,899.197

US$ 4.048.676

39,586,661 3,031,761

1,959,189 (471,518)

(41,716) 1,445,955

14,957 1,600,763

2,222,594 (922,038) 1.300,556

300.207

35,245

TJSS

us$ us$

4.038.432 8,087,108

0.4532 0.4532

35.246 335.453

0.0317 0.0317

* Revaluation is "an accounting term used when a company has to enter a line item on their balance sheet due to a revaluation performed on an asset. This line item is used when the revaluation finds the current and probable future value of the asset is higher than the recorded historic cost of the same asset" (INVESTOPEDIA, n.d.; para. 1).

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TABLE 4

GRUPO BRITT, N. V. AND SUBSIDIARIES. Consolidated Statement of Cash Flow as of December 31,2011 (with corresponding figures for 2010)

Cash flows from operating activities: Profit for the year Adjustments for:

Depreciation Amortization of software and intangible assets Increase m allowance for inventory valuation Interest expense Income tax expense Increase in allowance for doubtful receivables Deferred tax Loss on disposal of productive assets Share of loss (profit) of equity-accounted investees Translation effect, net Issue of stock option plans Early settlement of contracts with related parties Share awards granted to directors

Cash from (used in) changes in: Accounts receivable Due from related parties Accounts receivable - coffee machines under finance leases Inventories Prepaid expenses Long-term accounts receivable Accounts payable and accrued expenses Income tax payable Due to related parties Interest Paid Income tax paid

Cash from (used in) operating activities Cash fiows from investing activities:

Additions to property plant and equipment Intangible asset - Right of use of commercial outlet Intangible asset - Additions to software Proceeds from sales of productive assets Increase in other assets

Net cash used in investing activities Cash ñows from financing activities:

Dividends to shareholders Long-term due from related parties Repayment of ordinary shares Stock options executed by director Bank loans Subordinated loans to shareholders Long-term financing:

New loans Payments

Net cash from financing activities Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

2011 2010

US$ 4,048.676

3,433,003 1,500,745

- 2,344,604

2,291,993 2,222,594 -

(392,796) 125,137

5,421 (138,641)

4,485 - -

13,222,624

(2,400,743X1,479,543) (108,458)

12,153 (2,667,602)

(168,366) -

1,633,464 (1,287,729X834,909)

- (2,322,749) Í1.307.058)

4,605,536

(6,661,932) (4,436,161)

(523,850) 946,802 (59,384)

(10,734,525)

(1,786,488) 305,513

- -

(4,868,480) -

13,500,000 (3,778,151)

3372394 (2,756,595)

4.886.547 TISS 2,192,952

300,207

2,494,901 691,514 196,539

1,959,189

10,443 (922,038)

72,886 (14,957) (41,716)

43,372 2,747,927

54.401 9,815,262

(107,757) 25,372

(5,496,762) (375,803)

13,586 1,090,850

(1,118,393) (2,009,336) (1.260,383) (1,737,816)

(5,355,694) (832,080) (303,911)

508,908 (294.571)

(6,277,348)

(1,335,967) 514,630

(120,000) 294,000

4,989.522 (2,201,183)

8,295,519 (794,879) 9,641,642 1,626,478 3.260.069 4,886,547

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Figure 4. Britt Organizational Structure

Grupo Britt Organizational Structure

Planning and Budgeting iUlgr

Commercial Director

Logistics Mgr Retail Mgr

Operations Development Mgr

Development and Innovation Mgr

CIO

Direct Moketing Mgr

Corporate Support Areas Country Operations

Source: Café Britt. The image in the above figure was used with a permission of Café Britt

Britt's Future

Known as a strategic decision-maker, Britt's seasoned CEO Pablo Vargas liked to have a formal strategic planning that involved his top managers and the company's board of directors. While he was very optimistic about past successes and ftiture impacts, he liked to challenge himself and others to always revisit their business strategy. What had worked in the past might not produce same future results.

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While Brift's top future strategic directions and its needed decisions seemed very clear to Pablo and executive management, the questions before them were very straightforward: "How could the international expansion opportunities best be managed?" and "What design choice(s) were available to create an effective organizational structure that could serve as a source of the company's competitive advantage?"

Endnotes

^ The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated. Bronx is located north of Manhattan and Queens, and South of Westchester County. It is the only borough that is located primarily on the mainland. According to the 2010 United States Census, the Bronx has a population of 1,400,761. For more information, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The Bronx.

^ Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea located of the shore of the Venezuelan coast. Curaçao is the largest and most populous of the three ABC islands (i.e. Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao) of the Lesser Antilles, specifically the Leeward Antilles. Curaçao has a land area of 444 square kilometers (171 square miles) and its population was 141,766 as of January 1, 2009. For more information, please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura%C3%A7ao.

The International Coffee Organization (ICO) is the main intergovernmental organization for coffee. It brings together exporting and importing governments with the aim to collaborate and resolve the challenges facing the worldwide coffee industry. Its members represent 97% of world coffee production countries and over 80% of world consumption countries.

Fair Trade Certified Coffee is an indicator of demand for coffee and tea products. Accordhig to coffeeresearch.org. Fair trade coffee, or equal exchange coffee, is coffee that is traded by bypassing the coffee trader and therefore giving the producer (and buyer) higher profits. Fair trade certified coffee does not necessarily mean that the extra money trickles down to coffee farmers. The article was retrieved on June 28, 2012 from: http://www.coffeeresearch.org/politics/fairtrade.htm

^ Dutch Malabar, was the title of a commandment of the Dutch East India Company on the Malbar Coast between 1661 and 1795, and is part of what is today collectively referred to as Dutch India. For more information, refer to Dutch Malabar, in: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch Malabar.

Batavia, a large city and seaport on the north coast of the island of Java, and the capital of all the Dutch settlements in the East. Batavia is situated on both sides of the river Jakarta or Tjiliwong, in a swampy plain at the head of a capacious bay for more information, see: Batavia - Town, City, Dutch, and Java, http://www.libraryindex.com/encyclopedia/pages

^ The Boston Tea Party, referred to in 1773 as "the destruction of the tea," "was a direct action by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it

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into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and other political protests often refer to it.

The Tea Party was the cuknination of a resistance movement throughout British America against the Tea Act, which had been passed by the British Parliament in 1773. The Boston Tea Party was a key event in the growth ofthe American Revolution. Parliament responded in 1774 with the Coercive Acts, which, among other provisions, closed Boston's commerce until the British East India Company had been repaid for the destroyed tea. The crisis escalated, and the American Revolutionary War began near Boston in 1775.

^ Costa Rica is located in Central America. Its area size is 19,730 square miles (51,100 sq. km.). Costa Rica estimated population as of 2006 is 4,274,000. Its capital is San José. Most of Costa Ricans are of Spanish ancestry or are mestizos. For more information, visit: http://encyclopedia2,thefi:eedictionary.com/The+Republic+of+Costa+Rica.

^ While the term is synonymous with "strictly high grown (SHG)", "strictly hard bean (SHB)" usually refers to coffee grown at altitudes higher than about 4,500 feet above sea level. Beans grown at high altitudes mature more slowly and grow to be harder and denser than beans grown at lower elevations. The inherent consistency and taste attributes of high grown beans makes them more desirable, and generally more expensive, than coffees grown at lower elevations.

On the other hand, hard bean is synonymous with "high grown (HG)." "Hard bean (HB)" refers to coffee grown at altitudes about 4,000 - 4,500 feet above sea level. Beans grown at high altitudes mature more slowly and grow to be harder and denser than beans grown at lower elevations. The inherent consistency and taste attributes of high grown beans makes them more desirable, and generally more expensive, than coffees grown at lower elevations. "Strictly soft" (SS) beans are grown at relatively low altitudes (under 4,000 feet). Beans grown at lower altitudes mature quickly and produce a lighter, less dense bean. "Strictly Soft Arabica" beans have a more rounded flavor compared to the generally more flavorful and dense Arabica beans grown at higher elevations. The aforementioned information was retrieved on February 29, 2012 from: http://www.zecuppa.com/coffeeterms-bean-grading.htm.

^^ Robusta coffee is a variety of coffee which has its origins in central and western sub-Saharan Africa. According to Wikipedia.org, "though widely known as Cqffea Robusta, the plant is scientifically identified as Coffea canephora, which has two main varieties—Robusta and Nganda. It is mostly grown in Vietnam, where French colonists introduced it in the late 19**̂ century, and also in Africa and Brazil, where it is often called conillon. Approximately 20% of the coffee produced in the world is robusta." Retrieved March 2, 2012. See also Jessee D. Dagoon (2005). Agricultural and Fishery Technology. Rex Bookstore, Inc. P. 58.

^̂ The author of this case participated in Britt's Coffee Tour on November 14, 2012 and November 16,2011 and met aforementioned coffee tour characters.

^̂ Lúcuma is a delicately flavored tropical fi^it native to the cool highlands of coastal valleys in Peru.

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References

Aronson, S. (February 2004). In the year of coffee B.E. and A.E. The article was retrieved on February 13,2012 from: http://www.cafebritt.com/iD-the-year-of-coffee.

Aronson, S. (October 2009). Changing the guard. The article was retrieved on June 12, 2012 fiom: http://www.cafebritt.com/changing-of-the-guard.

Aventura (2011). Café de Costa Rica. Retrieved July 22, 2012 fiom: http://ww^%aventu.ra-cafe.com/costarica-epg.htm.

Business Insider. (2011). Facts about the coffee. Retrieved on June 26, 2012 fiom: http://wwwlbusiiiessinsider.coni/facts-about4he-coffee-mdustry-2011-1 oil-coffee-is-the-most-sought-commoditv-in-the-world-l#ixzzlubWfoKiH.

Café de Costa Rica (2011). History. Retrieved October 10, 2012 fiom: httE-//www.cafedecostarica.com/history.html

Cartmell, P. (n.d.). Costa Rican coffee. The article was retrieved on June 29, 2012 fiom: httß..;//www.ehow.coim/facts 6144116 costa-ricaii-coíYce-informatíoa.html

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Luxner, L. (2003). Steve Aronson: Costa Rican coffee pioneer: an interview with Larry Luxner (June 20,2003). Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. The article was retrieved on June 7,2012 from: http://www.liixner.com/cgi-bio/view__articie.cgi?articleID=1087.

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FallA\^inter, 2013/2014 BCJ 135

Appendices

APPENDIX A: World Coffee Production

Production Angola Bolivia Bra z> 1

Burundi Ca meroon Central African Republic Colombia

Congo (Kinshasa) Costa Rica

Cote d'lvoira Cuba Dominican R^jubfic Ecuador El Salvador Ethiopia

Ghana Guatemala Guinea

Mat» Honduras India Indonesia Jamaica Kenya Laos Lrbetia Madagascar Haiawi Malaysia Mexico Nicaragua Nigeiia Panama Papua New (3ufnes Paraguay Peru Philippines Rwanda Sierra Leone Sh Lanka Tanzania Thatiand Togo Uganda United States Venezuela Vietnam

Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

Total

Coffee marketing year for producer co Coffee marketing year for rton-produc«

Foreign Agricultural Service/USDA Office of Giobsl Analysis

2007/Oe

30 1 4 0

39^100 2 0 9

6 5 5

12,515

3 1 5

1,867 2,098

7 0

^ S

S2 5

i,e50 5,000

2 7

4,110 2 5 0

3 3 5

3,642 4,36 5 8,000

3 S

700 3 S 5

25 555

25 7 7 0

4,350 1,650

35 1 5 0

9 7 0

2,800 4 6 0

2 3 0

42 35

7 4 O

9 0 0

2 5 5

3,490 1 5 1

9 9 6

18,000 1 5 0

123,948

jntries begins eitiier

Table 03A Coffee Production Thousand 60-Kilogram B ÎQS

2008/09

30 1 3 5

53,300 2 5 0

6 5 0

1 0

8,664

3 0 0

1,580 1,853

127 5 4 5

6 3 5

1,550 5,500

1 9

3,980 4 0 0

3 6 0

3,22S 4,375

10,000

31 9 0 0

350 7

530 25

9 7 5

4,550 1,650

3 0

1 0 0

1,035 25

4,000 3 6 0

3 4 0

87 35

1,150

soo 1 6 5

3,260 133

1,000 16,980

1 5 0

3 9

2 2

136,239

n October (Colombia), Apri r countries begins in October.

2009/10

30 140

44,800 3 0 0

5 9 0

3 0

8,100

305 1,475 2,350

120 5 0 0

6 3 5

1,300 6,000

3 0

4,010 4 4 5

2 7 5

3,S50 4,825

10,500

28 700 390

2 475

2 5

1,000 4,150 1,92 5

30 1 0 0

1,OBS 2 5

3,300 2 4 5

2 4 0

9 0

35 6 0 0

9 0 0

4 5 0

2,870 1 0 7

7 2 5

18,500 i S O

2 7

2 1

128,505

(Indonesia) o r j i

2010/11

25 12 S

54,500 2 3 5

7 1 5

2 7

8,525

265 1,575 1,600

1 2 0

5 0 0

5 5 0

1,850 6,125

5 7

3,810

3 2 5

3 0 0

3,975 5,035 9,325

2 1

6 8 0

50O 4

550 25

1,100 4,000 1,675

30 6 7

8S5 2 5

4,100 4 6 0

3 1 7

50 3 S

1,050 9 0 0

6 1 5

3,212 1 0 8

6 2 5

19,467 145

7 1 0

140,337

iy ( Brazil), as examptes.

20Íl/lî

25 1 4 0

49,200 2 0 5

86 S I S

7,500

2 6 5

1,800 i,500

12 5 5 0 0

6 0 0

1,175 6,300

2 5

3,S60 4 0 0

3 0 0

4,600 5,33 5 8,300

1 9

7 6 0

550 ,...;.,,

550 |:l;#:::":;•;;•; 2 5 • - " ' . - •

1,000 4, soo 1,500

3 5

es 1,350

2 5

5,200 4 5 5

2 4 0

6 0

3 0

1,000 9 0 0

625 .: .,̂ ^

3,330 MB [: IOS ï'i „'î .:;,:;;,:-

e50 v"-'"-' ,,. 2 1 , 0 0 0 i;.: •";., :

150 1 0

1 3 7 , 5 8 3

Jun 2012/13

30 1 5 0

SS,900 2 2 5

9 0 0

2 0

7,500

2 6 5

1,800 1,800

125 SOO

eo5

1>475 s,soo

Î 0 0

3,850 4 2 5

3 0 0

5,000 5,100 9,700

aso 575

•;.:•• 5 7 5

\' 25 1,000 4,300 1,800

3 0

9 0

1,150 25

4,800 4S5 3 0 O

7 0

3 5

1,000 900 6 5 0

3,4S0 1 0 0

8 8 0

22,400 1 5 0

1 0

147,925

June 2012

Source: USDA. Foreign Agricultural Services, Office of Global Services. Retrieved June 12,2012 from: http://vvvvw.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/coffee.pdf

FallAVinter, 2013/2014 BCJ 136

APPENDIX B: World Green Coffee Beans Export

Sean Exports Angpla Solivia

Brazii Burundi Ca meroon Central African Republic Colombia

Congo (Kinsiiasa)

Costa Rica Cote d'Ii/oire Cuba

Dominican fíepubiic Ecuador

ei Saivador Ethiopia

Ohana Guatemaia Guinea

Haití Honduras India Indonesia Jamaica Kenya Laos Liberia Madagascar Maiawi

Maxtco Nicaragua tAtgsria Panama Papua New Oiiines

Paraguay Peru Rwanda Sierra Leone Tanzania

Thaiiand Togo Uganda

Venezueia Vietnam

Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe

Total

Table 06B Green Coffee Bean Exports

2OO7/O«

4 73

23,770 3 0 0

5 6 0

5 0

10,770

110 1,640

1,550 5

4 1

1 8 0

1,580 2,800

2 6

3,890 1 9 5

1 9

3,440

2,620 5,510

3 0

8 2 0

2 2 5

2 5

16 5 2 5

1,910 1,580

9 6

9 0 0

1 0

2,660 2 3 0

2 5

7 6 0

25 2 5 0

3,210 22 S

15,600

4 0 59 2 7

88,031

Thousand SO-Kilogrsm Bags

2O08/O9

4 73

28,396 2 5 0

4 8 0

8,160

1 1 7

1,385

1,180 6

42 1 7 9

1,506 3,000

1 8

3,783 37 5

1 7

3,050 2,125 6,625

2 6

9 8 0

2 5 0

1 1 5

2 5

2,125 1,425

45 1,070

5 3,830

3 4 0

7 0

1,200

1 8 5

3,050

200 15,430

35 3 9

I B

91,252

2OO9/1O

7 4

26,SS0 2 9 0

6 9 0

2 5

6,445

1 0 2

1,200 1,755

36 4 S 0

1,236 3,250

3 0

3,860 4 1 0

1 0

3,200 3,040 7,425

2 3

7 4 0

2 9 0

2 4 0

2 4

1,790

1,650 3

53 1,040

5 3,150

2 4 0

70 8 0 0

4 4 0

2,670 120

18,425

3 0

27 1 7

91,776

A con version factor of 2.6 was used to convert soluble coffee to the green bean equivaiefit.

Coffee marketing yessr for producer countries begins either in October' (Coiombia), Aprii (Indonesia) o Coffee marketing year for non-producer countries begins in October. For each non-producing country, the balance between imports and expoits was used

Foreign Agricultural Servioe/USDA Ofñce of Global Analysis

n order to reme

2O1O/11

5 6 S

31,810 2 3 5

650 2 2

7,400

1,255 725

48 4 2 5

1,770 3,235

5 7

3,650 3 0 0

3,900

4,260 7,375

le 650 400

4 105

1,735 1,525

37 8 5 0

3,880 317

30 1,000

1 5

6 1 5

3,150 1 0 0

18,780

20 7 6

100,547

r Juiy (8ra2ii), as examples.

ve double-counting

2011/12

7 BS

27,250 2 0 0

SOO

1 6

6,500

7 5

1,550 1,200

1 0

5 0

5 5 6

1,100 3,400

8 5

3,650

3 5 0

a 4,150

4,100 4,675

1 4

7 2 5

4 5 0

1 0 0

2 4

2,000 1,350

3 5

1,300

5,100 2 4 0

4 0

8 5 0

4 0

6 2 5

3,200 1 0 0

19,000

2 0

1 0

95,100

2012/13

7 5

30,630 230

825 1 5

6,500

7 5

1,600 1,400

. ' • "'$0

6 0 0

1,400 3,500

95 3,650

37 5

10 4,500 4,000

5,100 1 5

8 0 0

4 7 5

5 12 5

2 4

1,800 1,600

5 4 0

1,100

5 4,600

3 0 0

5 0

950

50 6 S 0

3,400 8 0

JO,000

2 0

1 0

101,756

June 2012

Source: USDA. Foreign Agricultural Services, Office of Global Services. Retrieved June 12,2012 from: littp://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/coffee.pdf

FallAVinter, 2013/2014 BCJ 137

APPENDIX C: Total World Coffee Beans Export

Exports

Angola

Bolivia

Brazil

Burundi

Cameroon

Central African Republic

Colombia

Congo (Kinshasa)

Costa Rica

Cote d'Ivoire

Cuba

Dominican Republic Ecuador

El Salvador

Ethiopia

EU-27

Ghana

Guate n^ats

Guinea

Haiti

HonduiTis

India

Indonesia

Jamaica

Kenya

Laos

Liberia

Madagascar

Malav/i

Maiaysia

Mexico

Nicaragua Nigeria

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

Peru

Rwanda

Sierra Leone

Tanzania

Thailand

Togo

Uganda

Venezuela

Vietnam

Yemen

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Total

A conversion factor of 2.6 was

Coffee mari<Gting yiaar for proc

Coffee marketing yoar for non-

2007/08

27,290

300

SSO

so 11,525

110

1,640

l,S90

4 1

942

1,585

2,800

185

3,890

19S

3,440

3,660

6,360

820

225

1S5

900

2,610

1,745

900

z.fieo

230

770

775

250

3,210

260

15,735

98,184

used to convert soluble coffe

ucer countries begins either

Table 06A Total Coffee Exports Thousand 6O-Kilograni Bags

2OO8/O9

31,475

250

460 S

8,935

117

1,365

1,555

8 « 1

1,S1O

3,000

225

3,783

375

3,050

2,94S

7,700

9eo 250

115

1,100

2,735

1,58$

1,070

3,S30

340

1,205

644

185

3,050

235

15,565

100,972

20og/ io

g 7 4

29,780

290

690

7,435

102

1,200

2,045

1,140

1,240

3,250

170

3,8S0

410

3,iO0

4,265

3,750

740

250

4 0

1,460

2,480

1,806

1,040

3,150

240

7 0

«05

£84

440

2,670

125

18,670

102,911

e to the green bean equivalent.

201O/11

35,010

235

650

8,385

1,255

985

1,250

1,772

3,235

485

3,650

300

3,900

5,860

9,680

650 400

105

1,675

2,460

1,600

850

3,880

317

1,005

1,207

615

3,150

100

19,010

20 7

114,111

n October (Colombia), Aprii (Indonesia) or:]uiy (Brazil), as examples. producer countries begins in October,

For each non-producing country, the balance between Imports and exports was used in order to remove double-counting from these trade Figures.

Foreign Agricultural Service/IJSDA tiflice of Global Analysis

2011/12

30,300

200

800

7,300

1,550

1,500

1,542

1,103

3,400

45D

3,650

350

4,150 5,600

7,175

725

4.'>D

100

1,750

2,750

1,500

1,300

5,100

240

855

775

625

3,200

100

19,350

108,389

J u n 2012/13

34,000

230

S25

7,300

1,600

1,700

1,800

1,403

3,500

500

3,650

37S

4,500

5,400

8,100

800

475

125

1,900

2,500

1,725 5

1,100

4,600

300

955

850

650

3,400

20,450

115,309

June 2012

Source: USDA. Foreign Agricultural Services, OfiBce of Global Services. Retrieved June 12,2012 from: http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circuJars/coffee.pdf

FallAVinter, 2013/2014 BCJ 138

APPENDIX D: World Coffee Consumption

Oomes;tic ConsumptÍDn Algeria Argenöna Australia Boiivia Brazil Cameroon Canada China Colombia Congo (Kinshasa) Costa Rjca Cote d'lvoipe Croatia Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador Ei Salvador Ethiopia EU-27 Cuaeemaia Haiti Honduras India Indonesia Iran Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Korea, South Laos Madagascar Malaysia Mexico Morocco New Zealand Nicaragua Nigeria Norway Panama i^apua Maw Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Russia Serbia South Africa Sri Lani<a Switzerland Tanzania Tiialiand Turkey Uganda Ui<ra)tie United States Venezuela Vietnam Yemen

Total

Foreign Agricultural SeiVice/USDA Office of Global Analysis

2OO7/Oa

2,050 6 9 0

1,1GO 8 0

17,390 7 5

2,800 4 2 5

1,137 2 0 0

2 3 2

3 0 0

4 1 0

2 9 5

4 2 4

1 5 5

1 6 1

2,300 43,490

3 1 0

3 4 0

2 1 3

1,260 1,720

1 7 5

6,880 3 0 0

2 8 0

1,550 1 3 0

4 5 0

S30

1,800 5 7 0

2 6 0

9 0

3 4

6 8 0

3 0

3 5

1 5 0

1,380 4,120

6 9 0

5 0 0

4 0

1,710 2 5

572

2 3 0

1 2 0

2,160 22,596

8 1 0

8 5 0

1 1 0

127,731

Table O4 Coffee Consumption Thousand 60-Kiiogram Bags

20O8/O9

2,070 6 8 0

1,225 8 0

18,030 7 5

2,865 4 3 5

1,100 2 0 0

2 6 1

3 0 0

3 6 0

3 6 1

5 0 3

167

1 7 0

2,500 39,575

3 2 5

3 4 0

2 0 0 1,235 1,890

1 8 5

6,915 4 2 0

2 9 0

1,680 100

450

52 5 1,950

6 0 0

2 8 0

9 0

2 9

7 0 0

55 3 0

3 5

1 5 0

1,690 3,190

6 6 0

3 9 0

4 1

1,800 2 5

6 1 6

2 6 0

1 3 0

1,670 22,650

8 3 5

9 5 0

1 1 5

124,656

aoo9/io

2,080 74C

1,330 7 5

18,760 7 5

3,170 6 1 0

1,200 2 0 0

3 0 5

3 0 0

3 8 0

3 3 3

4 6 4

169

180

2,800 49,505

3 4 0

2 8 4

2 0 0

1,230 1,940

3 3 5

6,780 3 6 0

2 7 0

5 0

1,705 1 0 0

4 5 0

5 0 0

1,900 580

2 8 5

9 0

6 7 0

47 30 3 5

1 6 0

2,220 3,805

5 9 5

4 7 0

3 5

1,950 3 5

7 1 1

2 7 5

140

1,510 22,060

8 7 5

1,200 1 2 0

137,164

201O/ Í1

1,785 7 9 0

1,390 7 5

19,380 7 5

3,375 9 3 0

1,080 2 0 0

4 2 3

3 0 0

3 5 0

3 4 0

4 5 2

2 0 5

2 7 0

2,860 41,640

3 5 0

2 9 4

2 8 6

1,000 1,700

2 4 5

6,860 3 3 0

190

1,930 100

4 5 5

4 7 0

1,975 540

2 7 0

9 0

2 8

7310 SO 3 0

3 4

170

2,839 4,190

6 2 0

550

3 5

2,180 3 5

7 9 5

3 1 5

150

1,370 22,888

1,305 1,335

1 2 5

132,936

2O11/12

1,900 82 5

1,47 5 7 0

20,060 7 5

3,300 9 0 0

1,200 2 0 0

4 1 8

3 0 0

35 5 3 4 0

4 5 0

2 1 7

2 7 0

2,900 45,450

37 5 •.,;:;•. ;

2 9 2

4 4 0

1,043 2,355

Z50

6,850 3 5 0

2 0 0

2,000 100

4 5 0

550

l,9S0 52 S 2 7 5

9 0

2 8

6 4 0

4 0

2 5

170

2,255 4,500

62 5 550

3 0

2,200 4 5

8 3 0

3 0 0

150

1,400 22,985

1,315 1,665

130

138,910

Jan 2O12/13

2,050 B75

1,S5O 7 5

20,760 7 5

3,600 1,050 1,200

200

4 1 5

IDS

3 8 0

340

450

2 2 3

270

3,000 44,500

3 7 5

3 0 0

4 6 5

1,045 2,540

2 7 5

7,050 3 7 5

2 2 5

2,100 100

4 5 0

BOO 2,050

500

2 8 0

9 0

2 5

700

4 6

2 0

170

2,670 4,900

6 5 0

5 7 5

35 2,300

4 5

9 0 0

3 2 5

150

1,500 23,300

1,320 1,775

130

lél,708

June 2012

Source: USDA. Foreign Agricultural Services, Office of Global Services. Retrieved June 12, 2012 from: http://www.fas. usda. gov/psdonline/circiilars/cofl'ee.pdf

Fall/Winter, 2013/2014 BCJ 139

APPENDIX E: Total Coffee Imports

Imports

Aigena Argentina AuGtt-alta Canada China Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Ecuador EI Salvador EU-27 Guatemala Honduras India Indonesia Iran Japan 3ordan Kazakhstan Korea, South Malaysia Mexico Morocco New Zealand PJorway Philippines Russia Serbia South Africa S Witzerrand Thailand Turkey Ukiatne United states Venezuela Vietnam

Total

A conversion factor of 2.6

Coffee marketing year for

2OO7/OS

2,050 690

l,18O 2,800

4 2 5

1 4 2

4 1 0

2 3 0

2 7 4

9 6

43,550 i S 3

2 7

4 9 0

3 4 O

1 7 5

6,680 3 0 0

280 l,55O

6 6 0

1 7 1

5 7 0

2 6 0

6 8 0

9 9 0

4,120 6 9 0

5OO

1,710 5 3 O

2 3 0

2,ISO 22,345

8 8

97,5&5

v/as used to convert soluble coffe

non-producer countries begins in For each non-producing country, the balance between innpc from these trade figurées.

Foreign Agricnilnrai ServfceAJSDA Office ot Global Analysis

Table O7A Totat Coffee Imports

Thousand 60-Kilograni Bags

SOOS/Oi)

2,070 6e&

1,225 2« 86 5

4 3 5

6 9 5

I S

3 B 0

2 4 0

3 8 9

1 5 7

43,350 1 8 8

1 8

555 3 9 0

1 8 5

7,005 4 2 0

290 i,680

6 S 0

1 1 4

6 0 O

2 8 Ö

7 0 0

1,325 3,190

6 6 O

3 9 0

i.eoo 4OO

260 l,67O

22,2SO 5

9 5

97,521

e to the green bean equival

7nnq/io

2,0G0 7 4 0

1,330 3,i70

6 1 0

1 3 0

3 8 0

2 2 0

7 3 2

1 3 5

44,200 2 0 0

I S

7 2 5

S S 5

3 3 5

6,68O 3 6 0

270 1,705

9 6 0

2 4 5

S8O

2 8 5

6 7 0

2,320 3,005

5 9 5

4 7 0

1^950 5 4 5

275 1,510

20,870 3 i S

7 5

lOO 687

ant.

order to remove do

7O1.O/11

1,785 790

1,390 3,375

9 3 0

7 S 5

175 3 5 0

2 2 5

8 8 3

1 4 7

44,175 I S O

2 3

780 5 3 5

2 4 5

7,460 3 3 O

1 9 0

l j93O 1,045

4 O 0

5 4 O

2 7 0

710 2r00D 44.190

6 2 0

5 5 0

2,180 1,070

3 1 S

1,370 23,110

6 2 2

2 0 0

1Ü5.815

uble counting

3oii/ia

1,900 e;

1,4' 3,3C

1,0" 1

2 :

1 , 1 I t

43, St 1

7' 1,2:

6,7£ 3

2.0t

5 5

»0

' S 5

" 3

5 5

1,300 2 2 0

5 2 5

2 7 5

6 4 0

1,875 4,500

6 2 5 5 5 0

2,200 7 D 0

3 0 0

1,400 23,200

6 0 6

1 9 S

105 803

Jura 2O12/Í3

2,OSO 8 7 5

1,S5O 3,SQ0 1,050 1 O4O

1 2 0

3 8 0

22s 1,403

2 i 4

47 j 000 I S O

I S ÍH";í;¡.;.;.í,.;v"."" 7 ^ 0

:*;:::;•:'•. ^3%-.- .. 27S

iill;':'l';:-:;k¿;:.''.^ ,'"•; -"^..iiàTS . " • • • ' " " ••" • ' ' ^ ' • " • • • " 2 2 S

2,100 1,500

". ".- ::•,••,:•:::::•.•>::••; - - - Ï : : ^ 2 7 Ô

%:Sk}:/r^'r-'' ''• '••• ; "":"^ Î̂ J i 'sbo

7 0 Ô

2,aoo 4,900

6 5 0

S 7 S

2,300 8 5 0

3,50O 23,500

4 0 0

17 S

112,192

June 2012

Source: USDA. Foreign Agricultural Services, Office of Global Services. Retrieved June 12, 2012 from: http://www.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/coffee.pdf

FallAVinter, 2013/2014 BCJ 140

APPENDIX F: Britt's Map of its International Operations

"̂ LOCACIONES Brilt S^̂ ops. 86 Cafe Srttt Fabricas de cafe y cfiocoi-ate - 3

REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA

- •«. ANTIGUA & BARBUDA

CURAÇAO

COSTA RICA

NUEJVAjCA L E D O N i A OCÉANO PACÍPICO

Notes to the above map: In 2010, Britt had 86 shops. As of December 2011, Britt Shops were ninety-two (92) shops. In addition. Café Britt's coffee and chocolates production facilities were three (3) in 2011.

Source: Café Britt. The image in the above appendix was used with a permission of Café Britt.

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