Starbucks Opens in Argentina

Thursday, May 29, 2008 - 2:06 PM EDT
Starbucks opening its 1st store in Argentina Triangle Business JournalPrint Article Email Article Reprints RSS Feeds ShareThis
Argentina is joining the list of the more than three dozen countries with a Starbucks, the company said Thursday.

Starbucks Coffee Co. (Nasdaq: SBUX), the Seattle giant, says it will open its first coffee shop in the country on May 30. Alsea, the company that operates Starbucks shops in Latin American countries including Chile and Mexico, also will operate Starbucks' Argentine stores.

The first Argentine Starbucks will be in the capital, Buenos Aires.

Last month, Starbucks said it plans to accelerate its international store openings and open "significantly fewer" stores in the U.S than it had planned. Revenue growth will be greater in the next few years outside of the U.S., officials said.

"Starbucks is humbled and honored to be welcomed into Argentina, a country with a rich coffeehouse culture," Buck Hendrix, president of Starbucks Coffee Latin America, said in a statement. "We are excited about becoming a part of this great tradition and contributing to its prosperity."

Starbucks operates more than 50 coffee shops in the Triangle.