Starbucks makes French connection
Seattle - Starbucks Coffee Co. plans on making a connection with French consumers.
The retailer is partnering with and Casino Restauration, the restaurant subsidiary of mass merchandiser Groupe Casino, to open Starbucks stores within Géant Casino hypermarkets and Casino supermarkets across France.
The first store is expected to open before the end of 2015. Casino Restauration will be operating full-format Starbucks stores alongside Groupe Casino’s grocery sites. Customers will be able to order the full range of Starbucks drinks and food, served by baristas.
“This new partnership with Casino Restauration means we can deliver a quality Starbucks experience to many more people in convenient locations across France,” said Kris Engskov, president, Starbucks EMEA. “Casino Restauration has the perfect network and local expertise to deliver this new growth in the hypermarkets and supermarkets right across the country, where our customers want us to be. We’re excited to be working together to build beautiful stores and to bring great coffee to more customers in France.”
Starbucks stores will be full-store formats within Groupe Casino grocery locations and operated by Casino Restauration. There are currently more than 100 Starbucks stores in France out of a total 2,200 stores across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.
In France, Groupe Casino currently runs 10,416 stores included 127 Géant Casino hypermarkets and 444 Casino Supermarkets.