Ein Frappuccino, Bitte

Starbucks Corp. (Seattle) has announced a joint venture with German department store operator KarstadtQuelle AG. The “partnership in principle” was unclear as to when the first German Starbucks would open, or in what format. KarstadtQuelle, headquartered in Essen, is Germany's biggest department store operator with about 210 Karstadt and Hertie department stores, plus about 200 specialty stores — including Runners Point (sports apparel), Wehmeyer (apparel) and World of Music – and travel services through Thomas Cook AG, a joint venture with Deutsche Lufthansa.

Starbucks president Peter Maslen said talks between the companies are progressing well and an official announcement may come within the next month or so.

In 30 years, Starbucks has grown from a single cafŽ in Seattle's Pike Place Market to an international presence. It now has some 4500 stores in 24 countries, generating $2.2 billion in sales last year. While it has expanded into Japan, China, Thailand and Saudi Arabia, it has been slower in its European growth. In a first step, Starbucks opened its first stores in Zurich, Switzerland, earlier this year in a joint venture with Switzerland's Bon Appetit Group AG. In Austria, it plans to open the first of up to a dozen stores by the end of this year. Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz has said that the company is focusing on joint ventures with local partners as it expands abroad. In the United States, most of its cafes are company-owned.