Starbucks Continues World Domination, This Time In Norway And Sweden

We've officially lost count of how many new Starbucks have opened in the last year. No matter: Starbucks is continuing its quest for global domination, this time setting its sights on Europe, and Norway and Sweden in particular. 

The coffee company has signed a deal to open new stand-alone storefronts in Oslo, reports Businessweek and the Wall Street Journal. Currently, the eight existing Starbucks stores in Sweden and Norway are hidden in airports and train stations, so the move for true storefronts is a big deal. Starbucks also signed a deal with Norwegian restaurant group, Umoe Restaurant Group, to better attract returning customers.

It's all part of the "Starbucks renaissance" plan to re-introduce Starbucks to Eurpopean customers, said the head of Starbucks operations in Europe, Michelle Gass, to the WSJ. Fortunately for Starbucks, Nordic residents are big coffee drinkers already (in Finland, people drink an average of 27 pounds of coffee per year), and used to paying up for a latte; a latte in Stockholm can cost as much as $10.