Starbucks in Austria

Coffee - the energy supply for many students. Some students love to drink coffee either to stay awake or to just socialize with others. During my stay in the States my friends and I loved to meet up at Starbucks for a nice coffee. My favorite one was a cappuccino with caramel flavor. The cappuccino was delicious and at the same time it was a great opportunity to meet up with friends to chit chat. Today as I got myself a cup of coffee I thought back at the good old times and  about why there are just a few Starbucks coffee shops in Austria. I couldn't think of an answer to satisfy me so I started researching and that is what I came up with: 

The Austrian coffee market is not the first choice of Starbucks if you talk about a new target market or entry strategies. However, the demand for "coffee-to-go" increased in the last couple of years. Many people especially the younger generation loves the fast coffee.The general trend can be recognized by just looking at all the small, individual coffee shops  especially in places where you can find many students like Graz or Vienna.

The first branch from Starbucks in Austria was opened in 2001 in Vienna. Since then Starbucks grow constantly throughout Vienna. Starbucks hasn't opened so many stores outside of Vienna. A reason could be that there are a high number of competitors. In Austria competitors for Starbucks are well established companies like Tchibo, Segafredo, McCafé and a number of small, regional coffee shops. All of them have a high variety of coffees with different flavors and sometimes offer a better price than Starbucks.

The city I know the best from all other cities in Austria is Graz. The number of coffee shops in Graz is really really high. Alone in the inner city of Graz you can find at least seven coffee shops. This is one reason why Starbucks isn't so present in the city of Graz. I have to admit I would love to have Starbucks coffee from now and than.