Starbucks enters Italy? But Italy may not need Starbucks.

Recently, Starbucks is ready to enter the land of Italian espresso, but caused strong dissatisfaction among the Italian people, and actively prepared to boycott.

According to Corriere della Sera, negotiations for the first Starbucks are in its final stages. Its arrival plan will be completed before Christmas, paving the way for the first pumpkin latte to enter Milan in 2016. It is reported that a well-known Italian entrepreneur has come up with a unique formula for Starbucks, which will use good wireless network coverage to attract customers from traditional coffee shops.

Although Domino successfully arrived in Milan last week based on the fact that Italian pizza was in short supply, Starbucks is bound to face strong opposition because of the unique significance of coffee in Italy. At present, many Italian people have begun to use social networking sites and other media organizations to launch boycotts. And before that, foreign companies failed to enter the Italian food and beverage market.

So the question is, why do Italians resent Starbucks so much? the shopkeeper's strategy has compiled an old foreign article, "Italy without Starbucks", to explain this unique catering phenomenon:

Without Italy, there would be no Starbucks today. It was Starbucks President Howard Schultz's trip to Milan, Italy in 1983 that made him what he is now the "world coffee kingdom".

He once wrote in a book that when he was the marketing director of Starbucks, he came to Cathedral Square one afternoon, where Milan's most famous Gothic church was surrounded by cafes and the air was filled with the sound of opera and the mellow smell of coffee. He realized that Italians have made coffee a part of life, and Starbucks should not be limited to selling coffee beans. Americans should also experience this coffee culture.

Starbucks now has 11000 stores in the United States, 925 in Japan, 730 in the UK and 314 in Mexico. On January 30th Starbucks announced that it would open a store in India this year, but so far there is no one in Italy.

In 2002, Howard Schultz said, "I am interested in the Italian and French markets." Two years later, there were stores in Paris and Lyon, but not in Italy. In 2006, he said: "I think other countries have more development potential than Italy, but Starbucks will eventually drive there."

Is the coffee industry in Italy so developed that Starbucks is afraid to open a store in Italy? If not, what is it?

First of all, Americans and Italians have a different habit of drinking coffee: American coffee is full, but Italian coffee is only as deep as a finger. Italians think a cup of American coffee is enough for eight people; and Italians can only drink cappuccino at breakfast. They think it's incredible for Americans to drink coffee after lunch and dinner.

Secondly, American coffee and Italian coffee are also different in the choice of ingredients. "espresso is too astringent and strong," Howard Schultz said during a visit to Italy in 2008. Starbucks inherits the Italian coffee culture, but is proud to improve the taste of coffee. " Gianluca Brizi, an Italian barista trainer, said: "Starbucks just uses different ingredients. If you open a store in Italy that only sells this kind of coffee, it will be closed the next day." Starbucks is very good at site selection and brand advantage, but it seems to have lost the quality of coffee. "

Third, Starbucks offers a meeting place for small talk, just to the taste of Italians who like to drink coffee slowly, but it is not invincible in Italy.

The first competitor is McDonald's, which has recently been called "McCafe" in Italy. It now has 411 stores, of which 116 are decorated in coffee salon style and are very popular. In addition, Arnold Coffee, a coffee shop that "imitates" Starbucks, has emerged, not only in a similar environment, but also in a similar way. Arnold Coffee, which has six stores in Italy, had a 44 per cent year-on-year increase in turnover last year. "I don't think the competition is too fierce," said Andrea Comelli, one of the founders. "it's full when all the other cafes are empty." He plans to open 44 more stores in five years.

Andrea Comelli talked about drinking American coffee for the first time. In 2001 in New York, he ordered a cup of coffee and didn't know how to drink it, so he sucked it with a straw and burned his tongue. He was still haunted by the experience, "but now I drink more American coffee than espresso." Perhaps when Italians drink more American coffee than espresso, Howard Schultz can forge ahead.

Source: original content of shopkeeper's strategy