After reading Andrew’s post on Tim Horton’s (https://blogs.ubc.ca/andrewyfli/2011/02/25/rrrrroll-up-the-rim), I realized that ‘coffee culture’ has been an increasingly popular trend over the past 20 years or so. Of course, coffee has always been a popular morning drink in the West, but the increasing secularization of society, combined with the growth of a new model for coffee shops (namely a comfortable environment for interaction rather than just a place to buy drinks) has meant that coffee shops are becoming the ‘third place’ for people to socialize and gather (other than home and work), gradually replacing the role of the church in that regard. Even More astonishing is the fact that this is a global trend, meaning that coffee shops are becoming more popular not only in the West (where it has always played a role in society) but also in the East.
The marketing strategy revolutionized by the Starbucks saw an opportunity in the lack of spaces for people to gather, meet or study. Traditional coffee shops focused entirely on the retailing aspects of the coffee business, i.e. the act of selling the coffee, but Starbucks realized that creating a space for people to work and ‘chill’ with their friends, or wait for their dates would give them an edge over all their rivals. A comfortable environment, an ‘oasis from the rush of urban life’ was their goal. It has been a resounding success – the combination of high quality coffee with quiet, tranquil environment.
I came to Canada from Hong Kong. Starbucks is also very popular in Hong Kong, although they have to compete with an Asian based coffee shop chain, Pacific Coffee. It seems that whilst Starbucks is the one truly global coffee shop brand, most places have their own regional coffee brands as well. The popularity of Starbucks have contributed to the ‘coffee culture’, and this has also benefitted their competitors like Blenz and Tim Hortons in Canada.
