Starbucks to open first outlet in Italy
Starbucks has announced it is planning to face its biggest business challenge yet: conquer the hearts of Italians.
The US coffee chain said the first Starbucks will open in Milan in 2017 in a joint venture with Italian retail network Percassi.
The move has a highly symbolic meaning for the company.
Its CEO and founder Howard Schultz claims he drew inspiration for the Starbucks brand from a visit in 1983 to a trade show in Milan and Verona.
The concept took off and the chain now has 22,000 outlets in 67 countries
But the beverage giant will face a tough challenge in a country which is already flooded with established cafés.
Italian coffee bars serve six billion espressos a year worth 6.6 billion euros ($7.2 billion), while 41 percent of Italian adults drink at an espresso bar at least once a week, according to market analysts OIFB.
Coffee is a central part of the culture, with local shops competing to sell espresso and cappuccino.
Schultz said Starbucks will enter Italy with 'tremendous humility and great respect for the culture'.
He said the firm is preparing to invest millions of euros in the country in the coming years as well as creating new jobs.
Schultz said the Milan store will be designed with 'painstaking attention to detail' to 'honour the Italian people and their coffee culture'.
Fast food chains are already popular in a country that is renowned for the quality of its home-made food.
McDonald is the leading fast food player, followed by Burger King.
Last year, another US fast-food titan, Domino's Pizza, said it was opening a store in the birthplace of pizza.
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