In the Starbucks coffee shop at the corner of Broadway and Chambers in downtown Manhattan, customers get a free New York Times with their white-chocolate latte or their caramel apple cider brew. It is the same in the hundreds of Starbucks across the United States - a recognition by most of the prominent American newspaper that the ubiquitous corner cafe has the most successful coffee house logo in the world. The phenomenal success of Starbucks was confirmed on Thursday when it reported record profits of 25 US cents a share, up 41 per cent from a year ago. The company simultaneously announced plans to open another 1,100 retail outlets worldwide this year. The Seattle-based company is currently launching an assault on Europe, starting in Switzerland, where protesters are today taking to the streets at the World Economic Forum in Davos to protest against the globalisation of markets by such cash-rich multinationals as Starbucks. The coffee house chain with the circular green logo is a favourite target of the anti-globablisation movement.
In her book, No Logo, regarded as the Das Kapital of the growing anti-corporate movement, Canadian author Naomi Klein accuses Starbucks of co-opting a radical chic third-world-loving image while forcing out local businesses by "clustering" a targeted area. "We plan to open our first store in continental Europe in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 7th," a spokesman in Seattle told The Irish Times yesterday. Given that Starbucks plans to open 500 stores across Europe by the end of 2003, the arrival of the chain in Ireland to challenge coffee shops like Bewleys in Dublin appears only to be a matter of time.
The spokesman would only say however: "We have not made any announcements on entering Ireland."
He added: "Europe represents a major strategic opportunity for us to achieve our goal of creating a global brand."
The company's success is based on selling a globalised lifestyle as product. Whether in Manhattan or Manchester, it appeals to young people by combining sophisticated beverages with an ambience of armchairs and newspapers.
In Beijing the English language People's Daily takes the place of the New York Times. It already has 150 coffee shops in Britain, where it has been expanding since it arrived in September 1998.
It now plans to spread to five continental countries in the coming months, including Italy, the home of the espresso. They know it won't be easy. "We realised from day one that one of the most challenging and difficult markets was going to be the Continent because of the strong coffee culture and heritage and very good coffee," said Starbucks chairman and chief global strategist, Mr Howard Schultz. Starbucks is already well established in Asia.
It opened its 200th store in Japan this week in Tokyo.
Since it started to go global in the mid 1990s, it has acquired 3,600 locations in 20 countries and boasts 15 million customers a week.
It has announced a target of 10,000 retail outlets worldwide by 2005. "Our exceptional first-quarter results reflect the continuing growth and strength of Starbucks's global business," Mr Schultz said on Thursday. Starbucks consolidated net revenues rose 26 per cent to $667 million (€724 million) in the quarter to December 31st, compared to $529 million a year earlier. The company has many domestic critics, including a website called ihatestarbucks.com.
