MILAN, Italy – US coffee giant Starbucks is set to open up to 15 branches a year across Italy following the apparent success of its sprawling Milan Roastery. Following the monumental flagship, which opened in Milan in September, the world’s biggest coffee chain has opened two more cafes in the Milanese neighborhoods of Corso Garibaldi and Via Durini, near the city’s cathedral.
A coffee shop at Malpensa International Airport is also set to open on November 29th.The Seattle-based company has no plans to slow down its expansion in the world’s greatest coffee-drinking nation, with 15 more Italian cafes set to break ground annually.
It’s a medium-term program, over five years,” Roberto Masi, managing director of Starbucks Coffee Italy, tells Il Sole 24 Ore.
“We are prudent and humble”
“We are prudent and humble. We know that Italy is a great challenge for Starbucks. If we do well, and are able to combine a great international brand with an offer tailored to the habits and tastes of Italians, then the program could also accelerate.”
For Starbucks, the goal in Italy is not to do coffee better than local cafes, but to find consumers interested in a different way of approaching coffee.
