Funny they want to start it in Milan which seems like a ground for the ultimate test of their marketing. If it can be accepted there by posh crowds who appreciate good design and gourmet food like nobody else in the world, they can make it anywhere. In other big cities though, like Florence, Rome or Venice there are so many Asian and American tourists that they alone can make Starbucks a sustainable business, even without a single Italian buying their coffee, ever :)