Starbucks
CEO Howard Schultz's vision for the chain was largely inspired by the coffee
bars he saw on his first trip to Milan more than three decades ago. But it took
the company growing to about 26,000 stores in 75 countries to win the
credibility he felt necessary to make the leap into the country that gave
espresso to the world.
"I
didn't think we were ready to come to Italy," Schultz told The Associated
Press in an interview Monday. "I think Italy is such a special place. I am
so respectful of the Italian coffee heritage and the Italian culture, and I
think we had to earn that respect, opportunity, and I think over the years we
got to the point that we are now ready to come."
As he
prepares to step down as CEO in April, Schultz will focus on innovation. That
includes a Milan location that will open in 2018 of what he called "the
quintessential Roastery" - one of the high-end shops featuring in-house
roasting and complex coffee drinks. The journey of 35 years, he said, completes
"my own dream and the circle of Starbucks."
Unsurprisingly,
skeptics like 70-year-old Christine Kung see Starbucks as a coals-to-Newcastle enterprise.
"We are
happy the way we are," Kung said on her way to a bar for coffee in central
Milan. "We don't need to be invaded by American scenery. We already have
McDonald's and that's enough."
Indeed, the
entry of McDonald's into Italy three decades ago sparked the Slow Food movement
that encourages local food traditions, although it ultimately did not prevent
the Golden Arches and other fast-food chains that followed from becoming part
of the Italian landscape.
Still,
espresso drinks are part of Italian tradition and the fabric of everyday life
in a way a quick bite still is not. Italians are accustomed to
"taking" an espresso standing at the bar for an average price of 1
euro, or just about a dollar, even in major cities; 1.20-1.50 euros is on par
for a cappuccino.
In Italy,
baristas generally make the coffee in full sight of the consumer, and hand
brioche and other pastries across a glass case, often with a quip. Taking a
seat in an Italian bar may incur an extra charge, especially in prime
locations. There are few sugary embellishments and Wi-Fi access is spotty, at
best.
It is not
uncommon to see waiters with silver trays delivering coffee in porcelain cups
covered with foil to neighboring business, a practice that underlies the rarity
of the takeout coffee cup.
This sort of
humanity attracted Schultz's admiration on his first Milan visit. His response
is to position the first Starbucks in Italy as a premium operation.
The Milan
store at Piazza Cordusio will be among the early wave of up to 30 Roastery
locations Starbucks says it expects to open around the world. The Milan store
will launch a new partnership with an Italian partner, the Princi baker,
offering deli food and baked goods. The first Roastery is in Seattle, with
others announced for Shanghai, New York and Tokyo.
Besides
mainstay espresso drinks, Schultz hopes customers will be attracted by
specialized brewing techniques developed by Starbucks that are not typical in
Italy. As in other markets, customers can take coffee out, or drink out of
porcelain cups if they're staying in. Starbucks says it hasn't yet determined
its prices.
Located in
an old post office building just steps from Milan's cathedral, the store will
be the largest to date at 25,500 square feet, or about 2,400 square meters -
compared with 200 square feet for the average Starbucks location.
It is hard
to gauge how many in Italy might share Kung's wariness. Schultz says market
research indicates strong brand awareness among Italians, mostly from travels
abroad. And younger Italians may be more disposed toward embracing Starbucks as
a place to hang out. Twenty-year-old Giulia Rizzi said she is excited for the
opening and has no doubt her peers will frequent Starbucks in Italy.
"When I
go abroad it's a place I go to very often because I like it both for the place
and for what they do, which can't often be found in Italy," she said.
"Of course in Italy coffee is sacred so perhaps not everyone will like
it."
But the brand
took a brief battering on social media, along with city planners in Italy's
finance and fashion capital, after an oasis of palm trees appeared opposite the
cathedral and it emerged that Starbucks was paying for the landscaping project,
chosen by the city. Vandals burned a couple of the trees.
The fate of
the Italian enterprise, Schultz said, will depend on winning over Italian
customers, not just tourists. Schultz has been getting guidance on how to
approach the Italian market from fashion designer and CEO Brunello Cucinelli.
His advice: "For Starbucks to be authentic. For us to be ourselves,"
Schultz said.
After the
Roastery, Starbucks plans to open other locations in Milan, a combination of
traditional stores and Reserve stores, which are essentially smaller
Roasteries, before it looks at other Italian cities. Schultz didn't say how
many stores are planned for Milan, but noted in the past 10 to 12 have opened
within the first year of entering a market.
So far,
Starbucks' plans aren't worrying the folks at one typical Milanese coffee bar,
the Giacomo Caffe with its wooden bar, round tables and straight-back chairs
located in the Palazzo Reale beside Piazza Duomo, not far from the new
Starbucks location.
"It is
something completely different," said manager Antimo Santoro. "Their
strongest point is to take away, to buy and take away. Our strong point is
service, we serve a coffee of very high quality, with a very refined blend, a
great service."
(AP)
No comments:
Post a Comment