Why isn't there a STARBUCKS IN ITALY (yet)?

I guess time has come to talk about coffee. It is a hot topic (indeed! Sorry, bad joke), and let me say especially for Italians. Coffee for Italians is something like saudade for Brazilian, is the smile of a person you miss. The first thing most Italians do once back from a journey is getting a coffee. True story. Actually I should not get that sentimental, let me start by the very beginning: how would I describe coffee culture in Italy? Bullet-points!

• coffee in Italy means espresso - it is really a couple of millimeters, way less than what you can get at any American cafe - it is really intense and concentrated, almost as dense as honey;  
• it is served in a ceramic cup (not even in the outskirts of the worst Italian town would you find a paper cup);
• most guys get it at the counter, it takes less than 2 minutes to prepare and less than 20 second to drink;
• it costs something between 0.90 and 1.50 euros (in normal places - i.e. not in Piazza San Marco in Venice, or in front of the Colosseum);
• in summer you would sit in the tables and stand there chatting, but NOBODY WORKS IN THE CAFE', in Italy;

This is pretty much it, back to the sentimental part it is really a key part of the Italian way of life, it is one of that little aspect of everyday that makes you smile. I started having espresso in high-school and after doing so I was way more eager to go to school. What is more, it is typically Italian, just crossing the border you would find espresso that are OK, but you would never find a GOOD ESPRESSO. At some point you feel lucky if you can get something remembering you of it.

I hope it is now clear why there is no Starbuck in Italy: if you go through the bullet-points you can see that they all point to the fact that Starbuck has no particular reason to break into the Italian market - the strength of Starbucks is basically the opposite of what the Italian coffee culture points to.

Rumors have spread about it opening in Italy, which I think makes sense in the big cities crowded with tourists, but I think that it will never have a real impact on Italians. They will probably make it, but only thanks to foreigners.

Another small point about Starbucks vs Italian Espresso: if you're obsessed by the overwhelming presence of Starbucks in New York consider these numbers (obtained in this blog):

136,000 espresso bars in Italy - 16,700 Starbucks stores in the world


Cheers,

Guido.