Date of Graduation

5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Marketing

Advisor/Mentor

Jensen, Sarah

Abstract

Starbucks is a multinational coffeehouse chain founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971 (Starbucks, 2023). The company has become one of the world's most recognizable brands, with over 30,000 locations in 78 countries worldwide (Starbucks, 2023). The coffee house has a reputation for providing high-quality coffee, great customer service, and a unique in-store experience. Americans view Starbucks as the golden standard for coffee shops and admire the brand for its success. After establishing a strong presence in the market in the United States, Starbucks decided to go global. In 1996, the chain opened its first store overseas in Japan and then continued to expand in the Asia-Pacific region, and later in the United Kingdom and Europe (Lemus et al., 2015). Eighteen years later in 2018, Starbucks expanded to about thirty thousand total stores, and decided to venture into Italy and open a Starbucks Reserve in Milan (Starbucks, 2023). With the strict traditional structure of Italian coffee culture, this was a bold and daring move by Starbucks. Now, five years after the Reserve's opening, Starbucks plans to add more locations in Italy (Wanted In Rome, 2022). This paper aims to explore the background and business plan of Starbucks in the United States, and view insights into the complexities and strategies of the company's expansion into the traditional coffee market of Italy.

Keywords

Starbucks, Italy, Global Marketing

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