Starbucks is still laboring to lure people into its stores nearly a decade after venturing into the European market.  Sales and profit growth in Europe lag far behind the company’s results in the Americas and Asia.  Ms. Marion Bayod, a 35-year-old masseuse, said, “I never go into Starbucks; it’s impersonal, the coffee is mediocre, and it’s expensive.  For us, it’s like another planet.”

The company has struggled on the continent that claims to have given birth to cafe and coffeehouse culture despite enjoying a strong turnaround in the United States and steady growth in Asia.  The biggest challenge may be customizing the Starbucks experience to appeal to a variety of European tastes.  In the parts of Europe where Starbucks does well, its stores are often packed with urbanites, tourists, and laptop-wielding young people who see the coffee chain as an symbol of American popular culture.

France has proven to be a tremendous challenge for the company.  60% of French people prefer espresso, yet many find that Starbucks espresso tastes too charred by French cafe standards.  French friends also tend to sit when they sip instead of ordering their coffee to go, causing Starbucks to have to invest huge amounts to give its stores in France additional seating space along with other renovations.  After eight years spent establishing 63 French Starbucks stores, the company has never realized a profit in France.