Starbucks opens upmarket roastery and cafe in Milan
Starbucks opens premium cafe in Italy where founder was inspired to start chain
Starbucks, the world's biggest coffee chain, will realise its chairman's dream when it opens an upmarket roastery and cafe in Milan today, but the test will be to convince coffee-obsessed Italians to pay more for their daily espresso.
The store will be the Seattle-based giant's first foray into the Italian market, the world's fourth-largest consumer of coffee, and comes 35 years after chairman emeritus Howard Schultz visited the country and was inspired to set up his own cafe chain.
The venue features a green industrial-scale roaster, marble counters, brass engravings - and a price that could make many Italians reluctant to make it their regular cafe.
At 1.80 euros ($2.90) for an espresso, Starbucks will charge nearly double what Italians pay at their local cafes.
"The price reflects the premium experience we will offer customers," Starbucks' global president of retail, Mr John Culver, said as he showed the media through the elegant century-old palazzo which the company had renovated.
Mr Schultz has said he was inspired to develop Starbucks, which now spans almost 29,000 stores worldwide, during a 1983 visit to Italy where he was struck by the rapport between baristas and their clients.
As in Seattle and Shanghai, where Starbucks has opened its other two high-end roasteries, the Milan store is designed as a playground for coffee drinkers, serving it in more than 100 different ways and showcasing the roasting and brewing process.
The 2,300 sq m store will also offer cocktails, catering to the Italian evening tradition of aperitivo.
Starbucks said it would start rolling out regular cafes across Italy this year - a move that will bring it into closer competition with Italy's more than 57,000 cafes.
Mr Federico Castelmare, 55, the barista of a cafe near the new Starbucks cafe, said its higher price would not allow him to charge customers more.
"I expect my clients to be faithful to me, but tourists will surely go to the roastery." - REUTERS
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