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Comment by elandrum | Hacker News Reader

Just be cautious here... in some countries, Starbucks has to operate as a seperate entity and use a different gift card system. For instance, Malaysia Starbucks is a different entity and the gift cards do not work between other non-Malaysia Starbucks. (At least when I was there a few years ago.)

This post from 2012 says where the gift cards must be used and redeemed in the same market: https://customerservice.starbucks.com/app/answers/detail/a_i...

> Starbucks Cards issued in Brazil, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey may only be used in the market from which they are issued.

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I'm surprised FR, DE and ES can restrict the use of the card in the rest of the EU.

When the German Starbucks company (which actually is a Polish company Amrest Coffee) gives out a gift card an independent company in another company doesn't have to take it. They are just sharing a brand, but are different legal entities with independent ownership. (Franchise)

But even if it were the same company they could give out gift cards valid only in a single shop or something. Conditions have to be clear, though.

Starbucks doesn’t operate in Spain:

https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2016/grupo-vips-takes-...

That link was from 2016. They do now!

https://goo.gl/maps/oVQLjLTgbYzCdDPNA

From the link I sent: “Starbucks Spain S.L. currently operates 90 stores in Spain and 11 stores in Portugal and plans to open 12 new stores and undertake integral renewal of 10 existing stores in Spain in 2016.”

The point is that “Starbucks Spain S.L.” is completely unrelated to “Starbucks Coffee Company” apart from licensing the brand from them since 2001 (I think it was a 50/50 joint venture until 2009 and later Starbucks had a non-controlling stake in 2013-2016).

Google street shows that they were operating from 2014.

There are Starbucks in Spain since 2001 [1]. But currently they are not owned, not even in part, by the US company.

[1] https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2001/10/08/daily...

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