Starbucks to open in Milan [?]

After conquering France, Austria, Switzerland etc. etc., it seems that Starbucks is preparing to invade Italy. There are no official announcements yet, but rumors are circulating wildly among the puppet masters. The first cafes should show up in Milan and Rome. I see some circularity here: as the legends goes. "Howard Schultz [Stabucks current CEO] joins Starbucks in 1982. While on a business trip in Italy, he visits Milan’s famous espresso bars. Impressed with their popularity and culture, he sees their potential in Seattle. He’s right – after trying lattes and mochas, Seattle quickly becomes coffee-crazy." (from The History of Starbucks). It makes perfect sense to open a coffee shop in Milan, a city that offers great coffee but no coffee houses (believe it or not, there are two, maybe three places overall). Illy wasted a great opportunity to create its own coffee chain while it could. If Starbucks does show up in Milan, there'll be no game, especially if its stores will offer wi-fi (believe it or not, wi-fi is still rather scarce - read: absent - in Milan, due to the deranged telco's strategies). So, to make a long story short, Starbucks is coming. And in Milan, it will be bigger than McDonalds' or Blockbuster. Period. [here is a piece that I wrote a while ago for Duel magazine titled Phenomenology of Starbucks, in Italian Download fenomenologia_di_starbucks.pdf And here is an interesting passage from the Espresso Warehouse newsletter:

What can Europe learn from us then? A lot really. The European coffee industry is waking up to the supposed threat of Starbucks. At the recent SIC show in Milan there was a seminar on how they should change to cope with the new US giant entering their market. This is a big change from a few years ago when naivety raged. At the forthcoming SCAE sponsored show in Rimini, Lino Albertini is giving a talk on 'Coffee Shops - An Italian Experience' and Lino's stores are far from the traditional Italian experience!. Couple this with a round table discussion entitled - 'Will modern café bars such as Starbucks eventually replace the traditional café bar' and you can see the sea of change - pardon the pun.

Read more (by the way, Russia's Coffee Mania is fantastic). Still here? Check this great blog entry about Illy's myopia:

The decline of Italian coffee comes as news to Andrea Illy. Illy is one of the princes of Italy's coffee heritage--his grandfather, Francesco, is usually given credit for inventing the precursor to the modern espresso machine, which in Italy almost puts him up there with Columbus, Galileo, and Marconi--and he takes his coffee very seriously. He was trained as a chemist, and is now chief executive officer of Illycaffè, which is often regarded as the country's top-quality roaster of espresso. Illy's grandfather founded the company in Trieste in 1933, after arriving as an officer with the Austro-Hungarian Army. (Coffee itself arrived through Venice toward the end of the sixteenth century. Pope Clement VIII was urged to ban the drink; instead he blessed it, wondering why such nectar should be left to the infidels.).

The young Illy enjoys talking about the "fifteen hundred flavors" contained within every bean, about the "volatility" of the beans, and, above all, about the extreme complexity involved in making every cup of espresso. "It's like a symphony," he told me. "There are thirteen variables in preparing every cup--the coffee, the water, the grinding, the exact temperature of the water, the force with which the water is driven through the coffee.... It is almost impossible to do it right." But Illy also has a few things to say about the new American coffee, by which he means mostly Starbucks. "Starbucks wants to come to Italy," he said, over a cup of his company's espresso at the Caffetteria Nazionale--a rare establishment where most people also sit and many eat something to accompany their espresso. "They are very bright people. They found a great territory, an empty niche. "But really," he continued, in a tone that suggested it was time to return to earth. "This is Italy. They would have to adapt their concept if they came here. People don't drink milk here. They are mostly serving milk--and milk is brutto."He used the Italian word for ugly and coarse, even though he speaks perfect English.

Illy also observed that what works in America may not work in Italy. "You like things big," he told me. "Big steaks, big cars, and a big cup of coffee. We use coffee not to drink but to sip. It's like eating a chocolate--a little burst of flavor. It's subtle. There is this overroasting culture in America," he continued, voicing a fairly common complaint about Starbucks and similar specialty roasters, like Peet's. "It's by far too dark. This is why they feel the need to cover everything with milk and why they have all those syrups." Illy almost gagged. He went on to talk about the volume of beans needed for the perfect espresso (6.8 grams); about what is required to prepare a worthy caffè macchiato ("stained" coffee), an espresso with a tiny dollop of milk; and whether caffè lungo (espresso with extra water) is worth the money.

Then Illy had to catch a plane. As he stood up, he tossed out a final cautionary word. "In the world there are espresso drinkers and there are other people," he said, speaking slowly, to make sure I would get his point. "In Italy, we are espresso drinkers. Americans are the other people."

Guess what? Mr. Illy is wrong.

UPDATE (May 2007): Guess what? The rumor turned out to be wrong. At least, for the time being.

More thoughts about Starbucks in Italy here.

Comments

[kayla hudson]

I LOVE STARBUCKS!!! Carmel Frapuccinos are the BEST!!!!!!!YUN

[isidoro]

Hi,
Interesting information. I just heard about Starbucks opening in Milan and Rome. Came online and found this article in this blog.
I am curious to know if Starbucks is gonna have an italian partner (Autogrill or Illy?) and the type of strategy they will use... can you help?
Thank you in advance

[matt]

Sorry, I wish I knew more. I doubt Illy would ever assist Starbucks - plus they have their own cafe chain, albeit it is a bit lame (too little, too late - or too latte). A partnership with Autogrill would make much more sense. Since the Italian market is traditionally anti-liberal, hyper-bureaucratic, and provincial, it is going to be tough for Stabucks if they try alone. I mean, the fact that they did launch their business in such a chaotic country as Russia but not in Italy says it all...

[nicole]

hi, i'm nicole and i'm trying (for the first time) to design a layout for my site. i hope you wouldn't mind that i borrowe your image of starbucks as it is so nice. if you do mind however, please email me through nixie_bu@yahoo.com and tell me so. thank you very much :)

[matteo]

I love to share the love :-) Go for it. Besides I also found the image somewhere on the net.