3.11.09 : News from the UK

Coffee chains defy recession

Many of the UK’s biggest coffee shop chains and independent cafes have defied the recession by going on an expansion spree. The six big multiple chains – including Caffe Nero, Starbucks and Costa Coffee – ramped up their combined shop numbers by 47% to 2,095 in the UK over the year to September 2009, according to The Local Data Company. Its report on the sector showed a 3% total growth which is expected to increase to reach £2bn in consumer spend by 2012. The report said the growth has been driven in part by “an influx of newly-redundant businessmen with laptops and Blackberries making use of the cheap, connected space offered by coffee shops”. Ben Price, the finance director of Caffe Nero said, “We have traded pretty well through the whole recession and our like-for-like sales have stayed positive. It is about a coffee being a regular daily treat for people today, and it’s the change of habits over the last 10 years, and that has been sustained through the downturn.”

http://www.kamcity.com/namnews;

31.10.09 : News from the UK

Coffee shop market still bubbling

The popularity of coffee shops in the UK continues to defy the recession, registering a 7% growth in numbers in the top 10 cities, according to the Local Data Company. The report states: “although trading has been tough, the recession has seen an influx of newly redundant business men with laptops and Blackberries making use of cheap, connected space offered by coffee shops.”

;http://www.guardian.co.uk/;http://www.independent.co.uk/;