The coffee shop market may have exploded in Phnom Penh in recent years. But noticeably missing from the competition has been U.S-based coffee chain Starbucks.
Still, that has not stopped young people in the city from flocking to local markets to buy T-shirts emblazoned with the global franchise’s logo.
In many cases possessing little idea of what exactly Starbucks is, teenagers and young adults around town can be seen sporting the T-shirts in the latest trend to hit the streets.
“When I wear it, I feel elegant and handsome because it’s beautiful for me,” said Hem Sovannarith, 16, standing outside Preah Sisowath High School on Norodom Boulevard. “There are so many students wearing this T-shirt in my school, including my friends. I don’t know what Starbucks is, but it’s popular.”
Chaktomuk Secondary School student Moeun Than Roth, 14, said the T-shirt made him feel classy. “I feel more elegant when I wear it,” he said.
Starbucks has hundreds of stores in Southeast Asia, including neighboring Thailand and Vietnam, but none in Cambodia.
Company spokesperson Bhavna Jagtiani said Thursday there were no plans to open stores in the country. “Starbucks will continue to accelerate our growth in the Southeast Asia region, however, at this time, we do not have any plans to enter new markets in Asia,” she said.
The image on the T-shirt is a green, black and white circular logo with the company’s signature twin-tailed mermaid, or siren, in the center and the words “Starbucks Coffee” encircling it.
At Central Market on Thursday, almost every clothing vendor had the T-shirt for sale. Several market-goers were also seen wearing the shirt. “It just started last month, and last month I sold about 50 of these shirts a day. Now it’s about 10 shirts a day. It’s mostly to teenagers. They flock to buy this T-shirt because it’s the new fashion,” vendor Kum Channy, 56, said.
Another vendor, Auk Pov, 23, said she sold two variations of Starbucks T-shirts—one made in Thailand and another made in Cambodia. The logo used on the shirts is the same. “I’m selling 10 a day, mostly to students. It’s $5 for the Thai edition and $3 for the Cambodian one,” she said.
As for the shirts’ popularity, Ms. Channy and Ms. Pov said customers told them it was just a trend. “The young people prefer fashionable T-shirts. They post them wearing this shirt on Facebook for their friends to see so they can then buy it,” Ms. Channy said.
