Starbucks Expanding in Costa Rica, Looking at Italy

Wherever you go in the world it seems that there is a Starbucks within touching distance.

The global coffee chain has a presence on every continent and such is their omnipotent existence we’re expecting them to open up new outlets in Antarctica and Mars before too long. As Bond villainess Elektra King once said: “The world is not enough.”

However galactic travel is possible – though galactic coffee is – and so Starbucks have to remain content in exploring and expanding here on earth. Two stories have emerged in recent days: one concerning their plans for continued growth in Central America; the other deals with them stepping food in uncharted territories.

Yesterday, Starbucks opened up their eighth store in Costa Rica, an attractive looking location in the Los Yoses district of capital city San Jose. The previously domestic building features a drive-thru, chain’s first in the country.

Alongside this Los Yoses outlet regional directors have announced that they want to reach double figures by the end of the calendar year. Stores nine and ten will also open up in San Jose, according to reports.

Director Monica Bianchini has also released that the company is planning to open a further three stores every twelve months in the years leading up to 2020, with the aim of employing a total of 337 staff.

Elsewhere in the world, it has been reported that Starbucks have entered talks with an as of yet unnamed commercial partner about the prospect of opening up their first ever store in Italy.

Corriere della Sera believes that a deal will be done by Christmas and a source has told the news agency Reuters that discussions are indeed underway.

Now despite Howard Schultz writing that the idea for Starbucks was born on a trip to a Milanese coffee shop, Starbucks has kept well away from Italy.

The belief is that Italians might shun the chain because they are used to immediacy and a culture built around espresso, not necessarily the longer, milkier brews that you would associate with the chain.

Starbucks, they’ll never stop growing.

photo: Minibe09 (Flickr, used under Creative Commons)