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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/bu...mp;oref=slogin</p><h1><nyt_headline version="1.0" type=" ">
After Long Dispute, a Russian Starbucks
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</nyt_byline><div class="byline">By ANDREW E. KRAMER</div>
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KHIMKI, Russia, Sept. 6 ?
With the hiss of an espresso machine and a note in Russian explaining
the meanings of ?tall,? ?grande? and ?venti,? Starbucks opened its first coffee shop in Russia on Thursday in a mall in this city near Moscow. </p>
The opening sealed a victory for the company in a fight with a
trademark squatter who had kept Starbucks from coming to Russia for
more than three years, just as a coffeehouse culture was emerging here.
Starbucks refused to pay the squatter to yield the Starbucks name in
Russia and eventually prevailed in court. </p>
The dispute illustrates the challenges Starbucks will face as it
strives to expand outside the United States, where growth is expected
to slow. Starbucks intends to open 20,000 coffee shops overseas while
expanding to about that number at home. </p>
With the opening of the first Russian cafe, Starbucks, which is
based in Seattle, now operates in 43 countries, said Carole Pucik, a
Starbucks spokeswoman. The company plans to open a flagship Russian
shop on Old Arbat Street, a prime address in downtown Moscow, later
this year. ?We see lots of opportunity here,? Ms. Pucik said. </p>
The menu of basic coffee drinks is the same as in the United States,
and indeed everywhere in the world, Ms. Pucik said. The sandwiches and
baked goods are adapted for local tastes. The Russian shop, for
example, offers a mushroom-and-cheese sandwich. </p>
In Russia, the prices are a reflection of the oil-driven economic
boom here. A tall filter coffee costs 75 rubles, or about $2.92. The
most expensive item on the menu was a venti mocha, for 230 rubles, or
about $8.96. A venti mocha at Starbucks in New York costs $4.71. </p>
Starbucks first registered its trademark in Russia in 1997 but did
not open any shops here because of the economic crisis of 1998. Then in
2002, as the Russian economy was picking up again, Sergei A. Zuykov
filed a request with Russian authorities to cancel the chain?s
trademark because it had not been used in commerce in Russia. He then
registered Starbucks in the name of a Moscow company he represented as
a lawyer. </p>
Mr. Zuykov, a lawyer and a former car alarm salesman who says he has
claimed many brands, defended his stake on the name Starbucks for three
years, saying that if Starbucks would pay $600,000, he would abandon
his registration. The company refused to pay. </p>
He lost his case in November 2005 as Russia stepped up its bid for membership in the World Trade Organization and hewed closer to international standards for the protection of intellectual property. </p>
Despite this setback, which allowed competitors a head start,
Starbucks said it saw plenty of room for more coffee shops in Russia.
Ms. Pucik, the Starbucks spokeswoman, cited data from Euromonitor
International, a market research company, showing that Moscow has one
coffeehouse for every 3,187 people. New York has one for every 365
people, and Paris one for every 126.</p>
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