Starbucks to open its first coffee shop in Italy

Starbucks is mounting a challenge in Italy, a country where coffee culture is central to daily life. New York Times said Monday that Starbucks will open its first coffee shop in Milan, Italy early next year, in partnership with Italian developer Percassi.

Though operating in more than 70 countries, the global coffee empire has been careful in Europe, aware of a strong pride that the continent with its unique coffee culture might take offense at the idea that an American company is needed for a better espresso. Italy in particular has been a difficult place to enter due to an abundance of good coffee shops dominating the streets, and because the Starbucks culture where people stop by before heading to work didn't fit in.

“There are very few markets and stores that I’m as intimately involved in as this,” Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said, adding that the company will tailor itself to local coffee habits by introducing a bar while setting the price of a cup of espresso under 1 euro (1.10 dollars) to attract customers. Schultz was inspired by Milan's coffee culture in 1983 when he opened the first Starbucks store in Seattle.

"We worship coffee in Italy, while Americans drink coffee on the go in large cups,” said Orlando Chiari, 82-year-old owner of a coffee bar in central Milan. “It’s two extremely different cultures, but I think young people will try it out, for curiosity.”

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