New direction for Teavana?
The following article says they hope to open 1,000 new tea bars, very different from the current retail-oriented shops. They will also serve food.
Well, good luck to them! I have to say that it looks like they are going for something too posh/expensive for me ($15USD salads?), but then I might not be their target clientèle.
I hope this means that some of customer service policies change if they are going for something relaxing – if the customer is happy and lingering in the store, they might go buy a bunch of loose tea without being tricker or pressured into more. Maybe? I like Starbucks, so I’m interested to see how it wors!
I wonder if they are going to change all of the existing Teavanas or if this is going to be something separate, like how there are McDonalds and McDonalds Cafe.
I actually work at Teavana, so I can say that we will not be replacing our regular tea stores for bars. The Teavana Bars will be additional establishments.
That makes sense! It’d be too expensive to re-brand all of the stores, especially if they don’t know how successful the new line will be.
Have you found anything different now that Starbucks owns Teavana, or has it been business as usual for you?
Well, it sounds a bit pricey and poncey but it did make me want to go out for tea and a treat with my hubby, so they must have a good idea in there somewhere. Couldn’t imagine spending $16 on a salad though, oof.
I’m actually pretty intrigued. I love the idea of dragging Fiance along for scones and tea as a treat once in a while.
The prices aren’t that crazy for NYC actually :p
I’ll be attending a preview event there tonight so I’ll get you guys the link to my blog post once it’s compeleted
The price seems steep, but is actually less expensive than some local (Boston) tea shops in which you get an English-style tea with “biscuits”. They appear to be trying to sell a sit-down tea as a special occasion, which isn’t necessarily bad. The article mentions a “wall of tea” so I suspect that while this is intended to be different from the retail stores, you may be able to buy dry tea to go as well.
I’m and ardent hater of Teavana and can name three places I’d rather buy beans or drink coffee at before Starbucks, but I’m impressed by what he has to say for the direction and intention, so I will definitely give it a chance with an open mind.
You can get tea (as afternoon meal) in some places for the price of that salad.
The concept seems to be more than a quick cup of tea to go in a paper cup a la Starbucks. If so, $4.95 for a quality tea imbibed in a relaxing, unhurried spot is not all that expensive. At the Harney Tea Lounge in Soho a small pot of tea last time I was there was about $6-7.
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