International Food Franchises No Doing Well In Greece
- by XpatAthens
- Thursday, 19 February 2015
The Greek market is a very difficult place for international food and coffee franchises. Greeks are creatures of habit and it is not that easy to change their routine, the way they eat or enjoy their coffee. It is not a secret that people in Greece consume large amounts of coffee on a daily basis.
But why are companies such as Starbucks or Costa Coffee failing in a country where people would “waste” three hours of their day sitting around in coffee shops? That is exactly the reason. Greeks need a place where they can feel welcome to sit with their friends and talk about their daily lives for hours at a time. However, self-service companies such as Starbucks do not feel so welcoming.
Furthermore, Starbucks and other foreign coffee franchises prohibit smoking, which is another major part of Greek people’s lives. Almost every group of friends in Greece has a smoker in their midst, who usually complains about not being able to smoke, and therefore they choose to visit a coffee shop with a more “smoking-friendly” environment.
In 2014, Starbucks raised its prices in the U.S., however the company was forced to drop its prices in Greece, claiming that the reason behind it was a VAT decrease. The problem with international coffee franchises is that they refuse to adapt to Greek culture, to the way people choose to enjoy their daily beverages, whether that is coffee, tea or something sweeter like a frappuchino.
To read more, please visit greekreporter.com
By Ioanna Zikakou