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Case 1: United Kingdom: Starbucks Coffee Company Ltd (UK) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Starbucks Corporation of the US, which is the world’s largest retailer and roaster of specialist coffee. It is the market leader of branded coffee shops in the UK. (Caterersearch 2006) In May 1998, Starbucks entered into the UK by the acquisition of sixty-five Seattle Coffee Company stores (Starbucks UK Home Page). It acquired the Seattle Coffee Company in exchange for about 1.8 million shares of common Starbucks stock, or about ￡50.8 million (Holmes 1998). Starbucks re-branded the purchased Seattle Coffee stores in the year following their purchase. The Starbucks Coffee Company also let Seattle Coffee managers Scott and Ally Svenson continue to manage the original UK operations (BBC news 1998). Seattle Coffee Company was founded in 1995. It included the Seattles Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia Coffee brands (Coffeegeek 2003). The company was managed by two Americans, Scott and Ally Svenson. Seattle Coffee Company opened its first coffee bar in Covent Garden in 1996. As of 1998 it had sixty-five retail stores selling Americanstyle coffee which has a similar coffee culture as Starbucks. (Bitic 2003) The United Kingdom was the first European country which Starbucks entered. The UK was to be a springboard from which to internationalize its business in Europe. Acquisition was therefore an efficient and fast way for Starbucks to enter into a new foreign market. Entering the UK was a milestone for Starbucks’ international expansion. The internationalization plan in Starbucks’ long-term strategy consisted of opening 500 retail stores in Europe by the end of 2003. We are a way from taking the step from the U.K. to Europe, said Schultz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Starbucks (Holmes 1998). What’s more, Schultz said Europe was a major strategic opportunity to achieve our goal of creating and building an enduring global brand (Holmes 1998). The low competition inten