Thirty-three years after his first visit to Milan, Starbucks’ Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz returned to Italy recently to announce the company’s debut in the market that inspired its creation.
Late in February, the company announced a partnership to open the first Starbucks store in Italy. Percassi, confirmed as Starbucks’ licensee in Italy, will own and operate Starbucks stores, with the first store opening in Milan in early 2017. The announcement was especially significant for Mr Schultz, as it was his first business trip to Milan and Verona that first led to his plan to bring Italian-style coffee culture to the US.
“Starbucks’ history is directly linked to the way the Italians created and executed the perfect shot of espresso. Everything that we’ve done sits on the foundation of those wonderful experiences that many of us have had in Italy, and we’ve aspired to be a respectful steward of that legacy for 45 years,” said Mr Schultz. “Now we’re going to try, with great humility and respect, to share what we’ve been doing and what we’ve learned through our first retail presence in Italy.”
Working together with Percassi, Starbucks plans to open stores across the country. Percassi, the licensee, is a well-known Italian company with a proven track record of operating highly-successful major brand partnerships. Starbucks is expected to open its first Italian store in Milan in early 2017.
