20 stores expected to open in Panama City over
next five years with Premium Restaurants of America, Starbucks
long-term licensing partner in Central America
Building on over a decade of sourcing coffee
from Panama, Starbucks® stores in Panama City will feature
Starbucks® premium, single-origin Starbucks Reserve™ Panama Carmen
Estate coffee, sourced from Panama's Volcán Chiriquí Valley
Starbucks Panama comes together with
Municipality of Panama City and Glasswing International to restore
local community center for youth
Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq:SBUX), together with Premium
Restaurants of America (PRA), its long-term strategic licensing
partner in Central America, today opened its first store in Panama,
making it Starbucks 15th market in Latin America and 67th
worldwide. Located in Panama City’s Street Mall shopping center,
the new store proudly features Starbucks Reserve™ Panama Carmen
Estate coffee, part of the company’s exclusive Starbucks Reserve™
collection of unique, small-batch coffees.
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Starbucks today opened its first store in
Panama, its 15th market in Latin America. Located in Panama City's
Street Mall, the 3,304 sq. ft. space is a celebration of Starbucks
coffee journey, from its first location in Seattle's Pike Place
Market to Panama's Volcán Chiriquí Valley. (Photo: Business
Wire)
“We are proud to bring the Starbucks Experience to customers in
Panama and build our brand in a way that honors the coffee passion
and traditions inherent to this region,” said Rich Nelsen, senior
vice president and general manager for Starbucks in Latin America,
where the company now has more than 880 stores employing over
12,000 partners (employees). “By extending our relationship with
Premium Restaurants of America, we are diligently positioning the
brand for continued growth in Latin America as we enter our 15th
market in the region.”
Starbucks® stores in Panama are operated through a strategic
licensing agreement with El Salvador-based Premium Restaurants of
America (PRA), formerly named Corporación de Franquicias Americanas
(CFA), which initially teamed up with Starbucks in 2010 for the
opening of the company’s first store in San Salvador. Since then
PRA has opened 19 Starbucks® stores, with eight in El Salvador,
five in Guatemala, five in Costa Rica and one opening today in
Panama, employing more than 340 partners across the region.
Together, Starbucks and PRA plan to open at least 20 stores in
Panama City over the next five years.
“We are honored to be Starbucks strategic partner in Central
America,” said Francisco Alemán, General Director for Central
America at PRA. “Our local market knowledge combined with our
proven track record of operating Starbucks® stores will allow us to
offer an exceptional experience to Panamanian customers. With the
arrival of Starbucks in Panama, we are confident that we can
continue to drive growth in the region by bringing customers a
truly unique retail experience.”
Starbucks Reserve™ Panama Carmen Estate Coffee, Now Available
in Panama City
To mark the launch of Starbucks in Panama, Starbucks® stores in
the country will feature Starbucks Reserve™ Panama Carmen Estate
coffee, a bright and nutty-sweet coffee grown in Panama's Volcán
Chiriquí Valley, where coffee producer Carlos Aguilera produces
some of the world's most renowned specialty coffees on his
award-winning, family estate. Starbucks has featured coffee from
farms in Panama like Carmen Estate, Los Cantares Estate, La
Florentina, San Benito and Hacienda La Esmeralda since 2000 for
customers to enjoy in select locations in the U.S. and is now proud
to offer Starbucks Reserve™ Panama Carmen Estate Coffee in its new
stores in Panama City.
“Starbucks has a long history of working with coffee growers
like Carlos Aguilera across Central America and we are thrilled to
now share that story here,” said David Batres, managing director
for Starbucks Central America. “Our customers in Panama City have a
strong appreciation for coffee and I believe we’ve created a unique
destination between home and work where they can relax in our
beautiful store, discover Starbucks® signature coffees from around
the world, or enjoy a bag of our local Starbucks Reserve™ Panama
Carmen Estate coffee to take home to share with friends and
family.”
Only three other markets in Latin America currently offer whole
bean packaged Starbucks Reserve™ coffees in select stores for
limited times, including Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. From the
mountains of Nicaragua, to faraway highlands in Papua New Guinea,
to the valleys of Panama – these coffees are hand selected by some
of Starbucks most experienced coffee buyers.
Starbucks Panama Celebrates Coffee Passion through
Design
The Starbucks® store at Street Mall offers customers an inviting
destination to relax, recharge, and connect in one of Panama City’s
most cosmopolitan commercial neighborhoods while enjoying
Starbucks® signature brewed, espresso and blended beverages.
Starbucks Latin America design team spent many months transforming
the 3,304 sq. ft. space into a celebration of the Starbucks coffee
journey, from its first location in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, as
highlighted in the store’s artwork, to Panama’s Paso Ancho and Los
Cantares coffee-growing regions in the Volcán Chiriquí Valley,
depicted across a large hand-painted mural on a locally-sourced,
wood-clad wall.
With a 28 ft. high ceiling, the focal point of the store is a
one-of-a-kind custom made hanging mobile, designed to represent the
Geisha coffee plant, which signifies the birth of the coffee
industry in Panama. The store is dotted with beautiful images of
Panama’s coffee farms and also features tile work resembling a hand
painted style unique to the local culture. Starbucks also
incorporated design elements from neighboring regions, including
furniture from Colombia and wood slatted light fixtures from
Brazil.
“Latin America has been part of Starbucks story from the very
beginning,” said Scott Mitchem, Starbucks director of design for
Latin America. “Our store designs pay tribute to the region’s
heritage and culture by working with local inspirations, artists
and designers. We wanted to bring that same passion to the design
of our first store in Panama.”
Supporting Opportunities for Youth in Panama City
As part of Starbucks global commitment to creating opportunities
for young people in the communities it serves, Starbucks Panama is
collaborating with Panama City´s Municipality and nonprofit
organization Glasswing International in a long-term project to
renew and support a community center in Boca La Caja in Panama
City. The first stage of this project will include restoring the
center’s infrastructure and refurbishing the building. Once the
center is open, Starbucks Panama partners (employees) will continue
to engage in community service, supporting various clubs and
activities aimed at fostering youth leadership. The program is
expected to benefit more than 2,400 youth in Panama City.
About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to
ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today,
with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster
and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our
unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we
bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer
through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in
our stores or online at www.starbucks.com.
About Premium Restaurants of America
With headquarters in El Salvador, Premium Restaurants of America
–PRA- (previously Corporación de Franquicias Americanas - CFA)
operates more than 500 restaurants in Mexico and Central America,
employing more than 12,000 people. International companies such as
Pizza Hut, KFC, Wendy’s and China Wok have relied on CFA for the
operation of their brands. With Starbucks, PRA operates eight
stores in El Salvador, five stores in Costa Rica, five stores in
Guatemala, and one in Panama, employing more than 340 partners.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150806006086/en/
Starbucks Coffee CompanyGlobal CommunicationsAlisha Damodaran,
+1-206-318-7100press@starbucks.comorStarbucks Centro
AméricaMarketing ManagerYolanda Puente
+503-2289-1000yolanda.puente@starbucks.com.sv
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