No I haven't but here some of my own very subjective statistics / oops I mean, "observations". SB in Oz & Asia Pacific possibly already have more stores / growth than the parent in the US (certainly that way for GJ as well). That gives them in oz at least, very little room to grow further. We have a miniscule population that is already streets, nay, highways, ahead of the US in terms of its cafe / espresso / coffee culture generation. Unless you go to a few of the right areas in the US, you only see an occasional SB, and no GJ AND, you dont see any "real" cafe's either, & almost nil espresso machines except in very metropolitan areas. So in the absence of any real number of cafes or espresso scene within the non existent cafe's, SB & others of similar ilk are seen to be the saviours of quality coffee in the US and are a good thing over there if you want any kind of coffee approaching a reasonable standard. Over here quite the opposite applies. There is a burgeoning cafe scene, more cafes than houses (well almost), a good number of specialty roasters doing the right things, and I am afraid that they (SB in any case) have nothing to teach us. Over here, they are just another cafe in a long line of others, albeit offering very special coffee accompaniments such as...sofas...as well as the very best "shiny" coffee beans burnt / I mean roasted to a cinder. (perhaps this is the roaster that someone in another thread says is using veg oil). I am therefore not surprised if they have reached saturation point and are not planning great expansions over here. Anyone else? Mal The Real Koffee Politik.
