Starbucks beefs up London office in Europe-wide restructuring
Starbucks is planning to expand its London head office with a new support structure as it closes its Amsterdam base and outsources management of swathes of its European stores to a partner company.
The coffee chain said the shake up will “strengthen the central function” of the company to “better service an increasingly licensed region”.
It added the move allows its long-standing business partner, Alsea, opportunity to expand outside Latin America to Europe, fully licensing its operations in France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
“We’re very pleased to build on our 16-year history with Alsea, a long-term strategic partner to Starbucks,” said John Culver, group president at Starbucks International.
“These strategic moves would enable us to further accelerate growth across these markets as we position Starbucks for long-term success.”
Starbucks confirmed the London base would continue to serve as its regional headquarters and that the restructure will have no impact on UK retail operations.
Renzo Casillo, managing director of Alsea, said: “Through the years, we have learned how to successfully bring the Starbucks experience to diverse consumers in several countries. We plan to do the same in these geographies leveraging the talent and scale that we have built in the region.”
The partnership between Starbucks and Alsea began in 2002, after they opened Mexico City’s first Starbucks store.
Alsea operates more than 900 Starbucks stores in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay, employing more than 11,500 staff members across the five markets.
