The store is a joint venture of Starbucks Coffee International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Starbucks (Nasdaq:SBUX) and Marinopoulos Brothers S.A. The two level store is located in the heart of the city center, at 4 Korai Street, near the neo-classical buildings of Athens University, the Academia and Library.

"We are very optimistic about the potential of the market for Starbucks in Greece," says Panos Marinopoulos, president, Marinopoulos Coffee Company S.A. "We look forward to sharing the Starbucks experience with our Greek customers at our first store in Athens. We are confident that the Starbucks coffee house experience will gain strong acceptance in Greece, which has a very strong and sophisticated coffee tradition."

Starbucks Coffee International and Marinopoulos Brothers S.A., one of Greece's leading retail, commercial and industrial groups, formed a joint venture in February this year to open Starbucks retail locations throughout Greece.

"Our entry into Greece comes at a time when our European operations are gaining an incredible momentum," says Peter Maslen, president, Starbucks Coffee International. "In addition to our recent store openings in Spain and Germany, we have been extremely impressed by the tremendous excitement and reception for the Starbucks brand and our retail presence in Switzerland and Austria. Strong acceptance of Starbucks in the European markets validates our ongoing belief of the tremendous potential for further expansion in Central Europe and reiterates Starbucks many global opportunities."

Starbucks opened its first store in continental Europe in Zurich, Switzerland, in March last year, and currently has 12 stores in Zurich, Basel and Bern. Following Switzerland, Starbucks moved into Austria with the opening of its first store in Vienna last December. Starbucks now has five stores in Austria, and has also opened five stores in Spain and four in Germany. Last month, Starbucks opened its first stores in Puerto Rico and Mexico City.

Instant Insights /

Starbucks Continues Global Expansion

Related Stories

Recommended For You