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A trend reversal appears to have occurred: US coffeehouse chain Starbucks sees itself on a growth path again in Switzerland. Starbucks Switzerland boss Stefan Hungenberg (46) announced in an interview with the “CH Media” newspaper that he wants to open up to 30 new branches in this country.
The cafe chain currently operates 57 locations in Switzerland. “If we have 90, that’s great, but if we have 80 locations that are all profitable, that’s okay too,” Hungenberg said. It is also possible for the chain to close unprofitable locations.
Sales are at pre-Corona levels
A few years ago Starbucks had more than 60 branches in Switzerland. A wave of closures followed: Among other places, a branch in a prime location in the middle of the pedestrian zone in Winterthur ZH was closed. Later, the corona epidemic also hit the packaged coffee business.
It now seems that the valley of tears has been overcome. In the current interview, Hungenberg said that in terms of sales, Starbucks is now above 2019 levels. In the past year and a half, Starbucks has opened four branches in Switzerland. Seven more are planned for Switzerland and Austria.
But competition is still fierce. These include McDonald’s with its McCafé coffee range and Zurich barista company ViCafe.
Coffee for drivers
New Starbucks openings are planned to include drive-thru branches as well as classic cafes in large and small cities. Discussions are currently ongoing. Starbucks will open drive-thru branches in Switzerland as soon as the right partner and location are found, the country manager said.
Hungenberg said Starbucks’ image is still very strong in Switzerland among both locals and tourists. Despite rising prices due to inflation, there was no decrease in demand.
The group would like to see a change in customer behavior when disposable cups are used. The price of a disposable cup is 10 centimeters. “We were hoping for more than a one-way fare,” the country boss said. Three percent of customers brought their own cups with them. You will get 80 cents discount. The company wanted to encourage its customers towards more sustainable consumption. (SDA/sfa)
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
