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The Economics Behind The Coffee Shop Market

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1. INTRODUCTION: The economics behind the coffee shop culture

As a continuously expanding industry, in which the adoption of trends such as “single-origin bean” or “flat whites” can represent the difference between a decent quarter and an excellent one, the coffee shop market in Britain proves to be an interesting field of study in a nation otherwise known for its tea-drinking, pub-loving mentality. With a 6.2 billion pounds turnover in 2013 alone, and an estimated number of 16,015 outlets across the UK, as outlined in a recent Allegra Strategies report (Thomas,2014), the coffee shop industry remains one of the most successful sectors in this country’s economy. Whilst the atmosphere of the generic Café Neros and Costa Coffees is a far cry from the distinct character of London’s first coffee establishments of the 17th Century (Green, 2012), it still provides an interesting perspective, not only on society’s consumption habits, but also on the internal mechanism of organisational culture and communications that these venues appropriate in order to survive and thrive in today’s competitive environment.
The massive expansion of this industry has prompted a high level of competition: despite Costa Coffee, Café Nero and Starbucks dominating the market with a 54% share (Hospitality and Catering News, 2013), there is a growing number of independent coffee houses and artisan shops that spurred the big players to raise their game and improve their performance (Houlder, 2014). But

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