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Subject: | Re: UKNM: Wimps? |
From: | Phil Gyford |
Date: | Tue, 27 Oct 1998 22:09:22 GMT |
At 16:16 27/10/98 +0100, you wrote:
>>Does anyone know who started Seattle, was it ex Starbuck employee's ??
>
>As far as I remember - no
>From Electronic Telegraph, 30/4/98:
Coffee couple drink to �12m gold blend By Simon Anderson
SEATTLE Coffee Company, the husband-and-wife operation started in 1995 from
a single store in Covent Garden, yesterday sold out to US giant Starbucks
for �50m, valuing each of its coffee bars at nearly �1m.
The deal will leave Scott and Ally Svenson - who set up their own
coffee-shop when they could not find a decent espresso in London - some
�12.5m richer, and put them in charge of Starbuck's European expansion. Mr
Svenson said yesterday that Seattle Coffee had a choice between joining the
giant Starbucks, which has 1,600 coffee bars in America, or competing
against it. He said: "Ultimately, Starbucks is going to be a global coffee
brand."
Seattle Coffee shareholders will get 1.8m Starbucks shares under the deal,
valuing the 56-store chain at more than $83m (�50m). Mr and Mrs Svenson own
about a quarter of Seattle Coffee's shares, with the balance held by around
50 private investors.
The deal is the first step in a major European expansion programme for
Seattle-based Starbucks, which plans to open 500 coffee-bars across Europe
in the next five years to add to its worldwide chain.
Mr Svenson said Seattle Coffee - which will be rebranded Starbucks over the
next year - had an annualised turnover of about �20m, but the costs of
rolling out new coffee-bars throughout Britain meant that it was not yet
profitable.
Seattle Coffee's Aim-listed competitor, Coffee Republic, yesterday welcomed
Starbucks to the UK market. Bobby Hashemi, Coffee Republic's managing
director, said: "Having a large, established market player serves to expand
the market for everyone." He said the UK coffee-bar market was in its
infancy, with just 200 outlets in total in a market able to sustain more
than 1,500.
Replies
Re: UKNM: Wimps?, Jamie Unwin
Re: UKNM: Wimps?, Peter Beech
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