McDonald’s has announced ambitions to become the leading European coffee chain, aiming to dethrone Starbucks. McDonald’s aims to add hundred outlets of its McCafé chain during 2009, targeting a European network of 1,200 outlets offering coffee and pastries. McDonald’s has seen its fortunes revived amid the downturn, with sales of its core staples surging as consumers hunt for bargains. This has allowed McDonald’s to draw ambitious expansion plans while Starbucks has been forced to curb its European appetites.
Nevertheless, McDonald’s has still to catch up in the UK, where no McCafés have been opened yet and where Starbucks has built about 50% of the 1,300 cafes it has planned for the UK.
