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Starbucks Roastery Coming to Milan in 2018

SBUX | February 28, 2017

Starbucks Roastery Coming to Milan in 2018

New Reserve Roastery opening in the historic Palazzo Delle Poste building will be first in Europe

Today, Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) announced its newest Roastery location on Piazza Cordusio in Milan with a dramatic unveiling of the building prior to its remodel. Set to open in late-2018, the Milan Reserve Roastery will be the first Starbucks Roastery to open in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, and the fifth, globally.

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Starbucks Roastery Coming to Milan in 2018 (Photo: Business Wire)

Located at the historic, turn-of-the-century Palazzo Delle Poste building on Piazza Cordusio, this one-of-a-kind 25,500 square foot retail space will feature the company’s premium, small batch, Reserve coffees served in a variety of brewing methods in a beautiful environment.

Starbucks chairman and chief executive officer Howard Schultz said, “It took us some time to find it, but once I walked through the former Post Office building, I knew that it would be the perfect location to honor the craft of coffee and pay respect to the uniquely Italian culture in which it will be served. This store will be the culmination of a great dream of mine – 34 years in the making – to return to Milan with one of the most immersive, magical retail experiences in the world.”

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said, "As mayor and as a citizen of Milan I am pleased that an international company, known for its standing and reliability such as Starbucks, has decided to invest in our city, choosing the famous Post Office building as the site of its first store in Italy. On this occasion I would like to welcome this new venture and thank Howard Schultz for choosing Milan. Starbucks is a brand famous worldwide. Its presence in the city is for us a further confirmation of the important attractiveness of Milan on the entrepreneurial scale."

At its recent Investor Day, Starbucks announced its ongoing investment in the premium Reserve brand, including opening 20-30 Roastery locations around the world, over time. This new location will be designed specifically for the Milanese customer, integrating the world-famous theatre of coffee in Italy and will offer freshly-baked food on site from Italian artisan baker Rocco Princi, the exclusive food provider for all new global Roastery locations.

Following the Roastery opening, Italian licensee and business partner Percassi will open a small number of Starbucks stores in Milan for the balance of 2018. Each new store will be carefully designed and curated to respect the local community and unique Milanese context. Taking a respectful and measured approach to store openings is at the heart of the Starbucks strategy in Italy. Together with the Milan Roastery, Starbucks and Percassi will create job opportunities for around 350 partners (employees) in Italy.

Starbucks debut of its first Roastery in Seattle in 2014 was the most successful store opening in the company’s history. Since then, the company has announced additional Roastery locations coming to Shanghai in 2017 and New York as well as Tokyo in 2018.

About Starbucks Coffee Company

Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup.