Official: Starbucks Set to Rock Italy's Cafe Culture

"The Seattle-based coffee powerhouse, Starbucks, has announced plans to expand its 4,000-strong empire with some 650 branches planned for continental Europe. [...] Starbucks is currently opening new branches worldwide at a rate of three per day. "We're taking a softly, softly approach when it comes to Europe," explained a spokeswoman for Starbucks Europe. "We expect to open shops in the big four countries - Italy, Germany, France and Spain - in the next 24 to 36 months." In Italy - where one city has already formed an association to protect historic cafés - a battle lies ahead. For Italians, drinking their coffee is as routine as breathing - a recent survey found that 70 million cups of espresso are drunk in Italy each year. That's 600 shots per person, consumed in any of Italy's 110,000 coffee bars. Milan, nexus of the fashion world, has some 600 cafés alone. And Italians' cafés are a source of pride and joy. In this country where sidewalk cafés are firmly entrenched in the national psyche, Starbucks' announcement has caused an uproar. "The Italian café is a culture that the Americans have repackaged," said a spokesman for one of Starbucks' European competitors. "They concentrate more on their image than the coffee." Italy's La Stampa newspaper chided: "We thought we had everything in Italy, but it turns out we lacked one thing: American coffee," (Jennifer Askin, ABC News, April 30, 2007)

Sorry, guys. It's over. The Frappuccinos are coming.

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Comments

[linus]

porto alla tua attenzione:

11 riga : 70 milioni di espresso bevuti in un anno -
io penso 70 milioni di espresso bevuti in Italia ogni giorno -

dividendo 70 milioni di caffe' al giorno per 40 milioni di abitanti
fanno 1.75 caffe x 365 = 600 caffe all'anno in media per ogni italiano
70 milioni di caffe al giorno x 365 giorni = 25.550.000.000 (25
miliardi e 550 milioni) di caffe' in un anno in Italia

Ti quadra?

linus