Starbucks to try and sell espresso to the Italians （585 words）

By Starbucks to try and sell espresso to the Italians

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Starbucks has unveiled the site of the Seattle group’s first coffee bar in Italy in a daring attempt to sell espresso back to the Italians and tap into Italy’s dolce vita to boost the brand’s premium offering back home in the US.

The world’s largest coffee chain will open its first premium “Roastery” outlet outside the US and China in Italy’s business capital, which has sparked lively local debate about whether the arrival threatens the traditional “mom and pop” coffee bars. At 25,500 square feet, the Starbucks Roastery, in size at least, has no local equivalent.

Before an audience of top Italian entrepreneurs from the fashion and food industries, Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz, who attributes his original idea for the chain to a visit to Milan and Verona in 1983, said it was the “culmination of a great dream”.

“There has always been a missing link to the success we have had and the growth and development we have had because we have not entered Italy,” he said, beneath frescoes at Milan’s City Hall flanked by mayor Giuseppe Sala.

The site will be the former headquarters of Italy’s national post office in the city, a sprawling Liberty-style building minutes’ walk from the city centre Piazza del Duomo.

The Roastery is Starbucks’ premium offering, designed to cater to well-heeled consumers that are driving sales of niche, artisan goods. It serves small batch “Reserve” coffees in a variety of brewing methods.

Starbucks plans to open 20 Roasteries in coming years around the world. The company says that customers spend about four times the amount per visit in the premium coffee and food outlets, which offer higher margins than its original stores. It also plans to open 1,000 premium “Reserve” stores.

The unveiling of Starbucks’ first Italian location comes as the company continues its expansion overseas. Mr Schultz will step aside as chief executive in April to focus on the expansion of Starbucks’ premium brand of stores.

Starbucks will sell local Milan produce from the Princi bakery, including brioches, croissants, cookies and bread in all its Roasteries worldwide.

Rocco Princi, a well-known Milan baker, who has created a chain of stores selling freshly baked goods and coffee, said he had been asked by investors from “China, India, America” to buy his brand and had refused. But he was convinced by Mr Schultz’s Roastery concept after being flown out to Seattle to see it.

As well as Princi food, the Roasteries will also offer early evening “mixology” of cocktails, a nod to Milan’s local after-work aperitivo culture.

Starbucks’ arrival in Italy has been mooted for more than five years. Mr Schultz said the Milan Roastery was planned as the first of many stores in the country, with property already earmarked for more stores in Milan.

Starbucks’ expansion is part of a broader trend of internationalisation of high quality Italian food and drink.

Campari, another Milan-based brand, on Tuesday reported a 16 per cent jump in sales for its orange Aperol aperitif and a 10 per cent jump for its namesake red aperitif thanks in large part to thirsty US consumers.

Eataly, the upmarket delicatessen chain which has its biggest store in New York’s Fifth Avenue, is due to list in Milan in the next 18 months. Grom, a high-end gelateria, was bought by Unilever in 2015. Prada, the Italian fashion house, two years ago bought an haute Milan coffee store Pasticceria Marchesi, and is now looking to expand it into markets in Asia and the Middle East.