Starbucks Coming to Italy???!!!!
 

STARBUCKS COMING TO ITALY!

http://fortune.com/2015/10/15/starbu...-italy-retail/

To update a recent thread of mine"No Starbucks in Italy?"- http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-in-italy.cfm

Me I don'tmuch care if Starbucks comes and ruins Italian coffee culture as many claimed - IMO if the market can support Starbucks in Italy then why not - I do oppose blocking their entry thru arcane zoning laws - let the free market decide!

As per their Facebook page ... "Apertura del primo Starbucks in Italia!" It's in Milano and the opening is on Feb. 1st.

I couldn't find that on their FB page Myriam. I will be in Milan in March, and just for you PalenQ, I will go past and see how busy it is and report back.

Fantastic, good to see another global company will be not paying their tax in Italy as well as everywhere else.

" I do oppose blocking their entry thru arcane zoning laws "

Is anyone suggesting doing that in Italy? I thought SB wasn't in Italy because SB thought they'd not succeed.

And, if we're honest, in not paying tax in Italy Starbucks would be merely adhering to the local business culture.

Every Starbucks I have been in in Europe has been mobbed.

Lines out the door @Starbucks at the Brandenburger Tor.

I think the Starbucks in Milano will be successful. Milano is a trendy fashion city and people will enjoy walking around with the Starbucks label on their coffee cups.

Prada, Gucci, Battistoni, Starbucks!

Thin

I also observed Starbucks being very busy in Amsterdam and Paris last summer. They must be doing something right.

They may be doing something right, but I'm not sure it's good old fashioned coffee. Don't get me wrong, our family has had a fair share of Starbucks, but it's usually frozen designer coffee drinks. We also don't really have many mom and pop choices available. The coffee we experienced in Italy was head and shoulders above anything Starbucks can offer. Perhaps Italians will have the sense to recognize that.

Only time I went to a Starbucks was in Versailles.

My daughter absolutely wanted to go inside. She is a fan of Starbucks... if Italians are of the same mould, youngs will love it and clog it !

(don't mistake me, I've absolutely no idea if coffee is good - I dislike all coffees). Only one I found fabulous was a coffe with full cream etc in Aalborg, after a visit in the dark and cold up there.

I believe I'm the only one in my group of friends who doesn't like Starbucks coffee, nor their frappuccinos of all kind. And I hate to drink from a cardboard cup.

I dislike all coffees)>

Even pousse-cafes in France with some booze in it or coffee with Baily's or any Irish Cream?

An FYI ...

Having read a couple of articles here in Milan this morning (in local Milano rags) debunking the celebrated grand opening of Starbucks on the 1st of February (as per the Facebook page), in order to satisfy my curiousity we decided to take a stroll down Corso Buenos Aires to see if we could find any sign of Starbucks' arrival ...

Nothing. Sorry to disappoint.

But if anyone is interested, they were putting the finishing touches on a new Nike store ...

I don't lkke Starbucks either Myriam although most of my friends do so occasionally I go there with them. Their flat white is not bad.
In Italy I would not go to Starbucks, that would just seem ridiculous to me when the coffee there is so good in any bar you go to.

Un pousse-café doesn't even have coffee in it, Pal. That's why it's called a pousse-café. Get with the program.

Un pousse-café doesn't even have coffee in it, Pal.>

Just after I posted I took a long hike (like you've been suggesting) and voila thought - pousse-cafe is an after the ubiquitous coffee drinking at the end of a large meal - after the coffee - I knew that but forgot that!

Thanks for the correcto! Score one for St-Cirq and Dordogneshire!

UGH! They will be easy to locate...just follow the smell of burnt coffee.

And while all of you are focused on Starbucks, McDonald's is desperately trying to tap into the coffee market by setting up coffee bars within their restaurants.

Kleebatt they have had those for at least 14 years in Australia. Called McCafe. Not sure why they tested them there first, but I had a coffee in one once during a road trip. It was awful.

Sorry for the typo Kleeblatt, better have coffee and put glasses on!

Read this from their CEO:
https://news.starbucks.com/news/star...-Italy-in-2017
"Inspired by the craftsmanship of the Milanese barista, the spirit of the Italian people, their passion for community, their friendliness and taste for quality, Schultz’s vision for Starbucks began to take root."
Something must have gone wrong over the years then.

ribeirasacra - quite right. This is a black day for Italy.

Oh who gives a toss. It's not exactly the end of days for Italy.

Judging by the number of Italian families in McDonalds in Rome, Pisa and Naples, it will probably be patronised pretty well.

Black Day? Referring to coffee I assume?

Blueeyedcod - McDonalds for all its faults is competitively priced whereas Starbucks is hugely overpriced as far as the Italian market is concerned.

PalenQ - as a Starbucks tifoso I am surprised you did not pick up on the news earlier.

nochblad - I read the story in today's NYTimes but....

<i><font color=#555555>"This is a black day for Italy."</font></i>

What an absolutely ridiculous sentiment. I know plenty of people living in Italy who will enjoy access to a cup of American-style coffee, and that really depends on whether Starbucks Italy will offer such a thing. According to Shultz's "humility" comments so far, it isn't quite clear how "American" the place will be.

I remember the day when Bialetti and DeLonghi became available in America's better home stores. Perhaps it made Black & Decker and Hamilton Beach a little nervous, but Americans who traveled and appreciated the brands celebrated.

@ nochblad - and I say again. Who gives a toss? The market will decide. If it's overpriced, then people simply won't go.

abboccati ....

but NYCFoodSnob I am surprised you fell for it

Is this protest simply a matter of forcing 'Italy' to conform to over-arching stereotypes?
My family find it hilarious that many overseas tourists want - no - demand - the Hollywood-esque Italy - cypress pines in the mist, nonna heaping plates of spaghetti under a vine-covered trellis, smiling, happy people who double cheek kiss everyone they see, tiny cobbled streets with no intrusion of 21st century life (aka satellite dishes or even evidence of electricity).
One little Starbucks in Milan does not a tidal wave of cultural obliteration make.

ribeirasacra,

Funny comment. I very much agree. Although fairly quicky, I would say.

I hear Starbucks wants Italy so much because they won't have to pay any taxes?

It will be easy to locate in Milano...just follow the smell of burnt coffee.

Buon viaggio,

Burnt coffee seems fabulously popular in London, Amsterdam, Paris and even Vienna and many other European places.

Italy is about espresso (and with a dollop of foam, a macchiato - - no relation to Starbucks "caramel macchiato" which is a frou-frou sugar bomb).

Starbucks has espresso, and the very best Starbucks espresso I've had, has been better than the very worst Italian espresso I've had (at a cafe just west of Firenze SMN - - bitter vetch).

But young people in Italy will go to Starbucks - - for the frou-frou sugar bombs, and for the pretty little chocolate lollipops - - stuff like that - - not for the espresso - - particularly if the espresso at Starbucks costs 3 Euro, and at the corner cafe a markedly better (non burnt) espresso still costs 1 Euro.

I think of Starbucks as sort of a milkshake & pastry place. I know of no one (in the US) that goes to Starbucks for coffee. All I see are giant cups up liquids of varying thickness covered with whip cream, sprinkles, etc. These drinks have long annoying names that sound made up or not actually related to coffee.

I know they also sell some baked sweets though I've never heard much about them. I assume they are far from fresh & taste like something you'd be served in coach.

I'm sure the trendy milkshake drinks and posting photos of them with hashtags will be just as popular in Italy as the US. And people seeking actual coffee will find themselves at a Starbucks once in a while out of circumstance just like it seems to happen here.

<Burnt coffee seems fabulously popular in London, Amsterdam, Paris and even Vienna and many other European places.>

Right.

I think a lot of you have either never had Starbucks coffee, or have forgotten how bleak the coffee landscape was in the US before its advent.

It's not my ideal cup, but it beats the crap you used to get at diners and bakeries and fast food joints by a country mile. Who served cappuccino, espresso, latte and the like across the US before them?

As for Italy, I can't imagine that Starbucks will push out the traditional coffee bar, but it's trendy, and it will occupy a niche.

<i><font color=#555555>" I know of no one (in the US) that goes to Starbucks for coffee."</font></i>

LOL. Then you must live in a cave surrounded by no other human beings. And you've certainly have never worked on a feature film location shoot.

The anti-Starbucks folks are just as silly and boring as the anti-Oprah folks. The people who are jealous-of-any-success just love to get their "hate" on, and travel forums provide a free opportunity. What else is new?

I thought the NY Times article on Mr. Schultz's humility offered some interesting anecdotes.

<i><font color=#555555>"1. Each week, roughly 90 million people pass through a Starbucks somewhere on earth.

2. For Mr. Schultz, coming to Italy is personal…“There are very few markets and stores that I’m as intimately involved in as this,” he said, adding, “We’re going to come (to Italy) with great humility.”

3. Mr. Schultz credits Italy’s distinct coffee culture for inspiring him to create the Starbucks of today. In 1983, he visited Milan for a trade show and wandered into coffee bars in the city. Then, he was marketing director for Starbucks, a chain of four stores in Seattle that sold coffee for people to make at home. His visit to Milan’s coffee bars convinced him that the coffee shop was an experience and culture that could work in the United States.

4. Mr. Schultz has returned to Italy at least once a year since 1983, befriending business leaders while studying the local market.

5. Mr. Schultz said the first store in Milan would open early next year, followed by others in the city before the company expands elsewhere in Italy. And as has happened in other countries, Starbucks will tailor itself to local coffee habits.

6. “There will definitely be a bar,” Mr. Schultz said…He also said Starbucks would be competitive on price.

7. “We’re not coming here to teach Italians to make coffee — nothing like that at all,” Mr. Schultz said, adding that Starbucks should not be perceived as a threat to local coffee bars. “We have to earn the respect.”

8. Mr. Schultz said Starbucks planned to develop a proprietary coffee blend for the Italian market, and he predicted that the quality of Starbucks coffee “is going to surprise people in Italy.”

9. But also important is an atmosphere intended to appeal to young Italians (as well as the promise of seamless Wi-Fi)."</font></i>

Milan is not known for its "great" coffee. It hosts millions of internationals per year, and I'm sure many will appreciate the product and experience. I don't know how Mr. Schultz plans to deliver on the "seamless WiFi," but if he succeeds, that alone will makes Starbucks a winner in Italy.

Since you quoted me, I'm assuming you are referring to me with this:

"LOL. Then you must live in a cave surrounded by no other human beings. And you've certainly have never worked on a feature film location shoot.

The anti-Starbucks folks are just as silly and boring as the anti-Oprah folks......................."

Never worked on a feature film location shoot? What a very odd, very specific thing to point out. No, I do not work in film. What is that relevant to? I do work on location from time to time, and that is exactly the kind of "circumstance" where people find themselves at a Starbucks counter for coffee that I referred to in my post.

"The anti Starbucks people are as silly and boring as.." Are you referring to me? Anti Starbucks? If you are referring to me, it is you who invented that. I'm not anti Starbucks & never said I was. Not anti Oprah either for that matter. As for boring, I'd say picking a random post to use for a nonsensical straw man argument and to insult someone is boring behavior.

I do not live on a cave. I don't know anyone that goes to Starbucks to get actual coffee unless due to circumstance. I don't know anyone that goes out on a dedicated coffee date, to sit and enjoy coffee, to Starbucks. They go to get dessert type drinks and/or use wifi. Other than that they go when they need a water/iced tea/coffee when they are busy doing other things and there are 5 Starbucks between them and the next option. Circumstance.

Yes Sdtarbucks is a lot more than coffee!

< I don't know anyone that goes to Starbucks to get actual coffee unless due to circumstance. I don't know anyone that goes out on a dedicated coffee date, to sit and enjoy coffee, to Starbucks. >

That does seem unusual, but I suppose a lot depends on where you live. I live in a city with a lot of coffee bars serving artisan coffee (yes, it's a thing), but Starbucks is still packed at all hours of the day and night.