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To: Bill Harmond who wrote (151471)	1/12/2003 8:32:55 AM
From: GST	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

LOL -- I always go to Starbucks when I am in China -- I know the prices because that is where I like buy my coffee when I am in China. They are all over the place. They are not a figment of my imagination. They are real. Seattle's Best is also in China. Starbucks has announced their Asian expansion plan -- a tenfold increase from 600 locations now to 6000 in a few years, with the focus on China. How much does it cost? A latte is 28 RMB -- about $3.50. And people come in and buy the coffee just like they do in the good old USA -- despite the fact that this is mainly a tea culture. I don't make this stuff up Bill -- it is a farce to hear you discuss this as if it was theoretical. I am simply telling you what is happening now. As for Outback Steakhouse, it is part of a large and complex chain of restaurants run by some of the smartest people in the business. I have eaten at Outback in Beijing -- there are several of them there. I brought a menu home with me this time to show people -- it is precisely the same menu at precisely the same prices. I have not seen any growth estimates for Outback. You just don't know the reality. As for purchasing power of the growing middle class, once again you are far off the mark. You don't know how people live in China today. The Chinese standard of living is a really mixed bag -- a bag five times larger than the USA. And in that really, really big mixed bag, there are huge markets growing at fast rates that have attracted the attention of thousands of foreign companies even if you have not noticed. There is a new economy Bill with real people spending real money.