Starbucks First US Coffee on Swiss Rail Trains
to Geneva
By
Bonnie Carroll
Travelers
on their way to Geneva will be delighted to get the news
that their favorite US coffee drinks and quick meals can now be
savored on Swiss Rail. The national railway company (SBB), is
partnering with Starbucks Corporation, a US-based coffee company,
to provide travelling Starbucks stores on-board intercity express
trains by the first half of 2013. The partnership will first offer
Starbucks stores aboard two SBB Intercity trains between St Gallen
and Geneva, Switzerland.
Jeannine
Pilloud, SBB director of passenger transportation, said, 'Starbucks
is a perfect complement for our own range of services. We would
hope to attract young guests and business travelers.'
The Starbucks stores on wheels will be adding to the restaurant
services the Swiss rail company already provides to its passengers,
and hope to expand the facilities and convenience of rail travel.
The pilot project includes the redesign of the current onboard
bistro and restaurant services of two 'IC 2000_ double-decker
trains into Starbucks stores. The design for the stores was co-developed
by Starbucks and the rail company. The onboard Starbucks stores
will be operated by a SBB subsidiary, Elvetino.
Rich
Nelsen, the senior vice president for Starbucks EMEA (Europe,
Middle-East, Africa') said "Once again Switzerland is leading
the way and planning a key role in innovating the Starbucks brand.
It is here over ten years ago where we opened our first store
in continental Europe, we purchase all of our coffee worldwide
through our Lausanne trading centre and our coffee machines come
from Switzerland.'
Starbucks
Coffee Switzerland opened the first coffeehouse in Switzerland
11 years ago. The location right at Central (downtown Zurich)
was also the first Starbucks Coffeehouse in continental Europe.
Currently Starbucks operates 50 Coffeehouses, and has maintained
close ties to Switzerland for many years. All the high-grade coffee
machines used by Starbucks worldwide were developed exclusively
for Starbucks and are manufactured by Thermoplan, a company located
in Central Switzerland. In addition, the Starbucks Coffee Trading
Company, which is in charge of the global coffee purchasing process,
is based in Laussane Coffeehouses.
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