Welcome back to Milan! Today was a busy day that started out with a trip the the very first Starbucks in Italy. Although there have been 2 established since the location we attended opened, this is the initial location, and it is quite a sight. It was very interesting to examine how this American business operates in Italy. When I first got off the Metro and looked at the building that houses this Italian Starbucks, I knew that that it would be quite different from the American Starbucks I am used to. I could explain the gorgeous exterior, but this picture would do it far more justice. The inside of the building was just as astounding as it is a roastery that contains a regular coffee bar, a bar with lots of traditional Italian food, and a cocktail bar that serves alcoholic coffee drinks.

The inside of the building was just as astounding as it is a roastery that contains a regular coffee bar, a bar with lots of traditional Italian food, and a cocktail bar that serves alcoholic coffee drinks.

One difference I noticed in the Starbucks business in Italy from the Starbucks business in America was that they are very serious and passionate about the coffee, as evidenced by the lovely demonstration of the coffee making process and coffee tasting we participated in upon our arrival.

Our tour guide showed us the entire coffee manufacturing process and showed us how pure coffee beans become roasted ones and how they get bagged and are sent to be sold. The factory itself reminded me of Willy Wonka’s with tubes that lead everywhere throughout the facility. There were ceiling pipes that transported the coffee beans and were transparent so that we could see them being moved to various parts of Starbucks, which was very cool. From this, it is evident that Starbucks is a business that serves as both a manufacturer and distributor in the supply chain because it creates its own coffee and sells it by itself. However, in America, it can act as only a manufacturer sometimes because it manufactures its products and sends them to other distributors to be sold in stores. I would attribute this to the fact that Starbucks is so controversial in Italy because the idea of a cafe with delicious coffee and slow-paced meals is such an important aspect to their culture and is very different from the atmosphere presented in the American Starbucks.

Another thing I noticed that was different between the American and Italian Starbucks was that there were far less people on their laptops and computers and much more people talking to each other and socializing as they ate some delicious food. In America, it is normally dead silent in each Starbucks because people are on computers doing work with headphones on. In my opinion, Italy has made Starbucks a better institution by incorporating its own unique culture within its business to create the cozy coffee shop atmosphere filled with slow, delicious meals over great conversation. I was made very aware of this change of the typical Starbucks atmosphere when we were participating in the coffee tasting and the employee told us that in order to fully enjoy the coffee, we needed to see it be made, drink water before to cleanse the palate, experience the smell, and finally enjoy the coffee. Clearly, there is more value to enjoying and experiencing the food rather than getting a coffee to go very quickly for the sole purpose of waking up each morning.

After our Starbucks excursion, I walked around the Milan Cathedral Area and stumbled upon the Castello Sforzesca, a large castle in the middle of the city that was quite busy with tourists. There, we saw many people preparing for this weekend’s upcoming festival. They were singing songs to prepare the tourists for the festivities. Additionally, in our three hours of freetime, we found an adorable neighborhood called Brera which flaunted several cute little shops and restaurants. It looked like the little Italian area that I had envisioned in my mind before actually coming to Italy.

Our last stop of the day was the Armani Museum in the beautiful canal district of Navigli in Milano. Although I do not understand the inner workings of fashion design, I was able to appreciate Giorgio Armani and his business style. One business tactic that I learned he incorporated was that he never paid celebrities to wear his clothes; instead, he gave them the liberty to decide if they were willing to wear his fashion. He prioritized comfort because even if one was wearing a gorgeous outfit designed by him, if they were not comfortable, they were not presenting it in the correct way. Therefore, Armani preferred people who wanted to be wearing his clothes and were comfortable in his clothes to “present” his work to the outside world.

One thing that stood out at Armani was the intense work that Giorgio Armani himself put into each of his pieces. For example, I learned that before each show, his models had to be ready 45 minutes before so that he could put his finishing touches on each model individually. Also, I learned that he wasn’t afraid to take risks in his business. He created several clothing items that were breaking barriers and defying typical clothes for each gender. For example, he made a women’s romper in 1995, when women barely wore short shorts. He also made very versatile pieces that could be either men’s or women’s. For example, he designed a jacket that resembled a man’s jacket on top and a woman’s jacket on the bottom. Armani is a perfect example of someone in business who was not afraid to take risks, and clearly it paid off for him.

Clearly, Day #5 of my abroad trip was a success!