According to the Moscow Times, Starbucks has opened its first retail location in Russia.
No Russian Web site yet, but I have no doubt that one is in the works. That makes it 19 countries (and counting) for Starbucks.
And, after a brief trip to Osaka, I have to say that Starbucks is doing very well in Japan. The chain is not nearly as ubiquitous in Osaka as it is in Tokyo, but it’s getting there…
UPDATE: I stand corrected. There are more than 30 countries around the world that include at least one Starbucks. Here is the current list (Russia not yet included):
- Australia
- Austria
- Bahrain
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Cyprus
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Oman
- Peru
- Philippines
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
Starbucks actually has a presence in quite a few more countries than those which have national pages; over 30 countries as of the beginning of 2005, according to Wikipedia.
In response to your notation about the first Starbucks in Russia as of June 2005:
As of October 1, 1999 Starbucks had 9 stores in China, per its 1998-1999 Annual Report; as of June 2005, according to the Seattle Intelligence Post Reporter, there are more than 300 Starbucks in China.
Russia will most likely embrace the Starbucks concept, just as China has.