For ages and ages there was no Starbucks in Sweden, at all.  Unlike the US with around about 11 000 cafés, 1000 in Canada and more than 800 in Japan, Sweden had up until recently had none even though it is one of America’s biggest coffee chains. About 7 or 8 years ago Starbucks was known for having close to slave-like wages, maybe that is why it didn’t really catch on in Sweden. However, after the first Starbucks arrived in Sweden, in Stockholm’s international airport Arlanda in 2010, two more have followed during 2012. “The concept will be kept to travel locations, such as airports and train stations”, says Lars Edengréen, CEO for SSP Sweden. There are now 3 different Starbucks locations in Sweden including; Arlanda airport and in the central train stations in Gothenburg and Malmö.

For some, those who have lived in Starbucks-filled cities might realize what a cultural significance places like that have. Don’t misunderstand me when I say this, I do not mean that the “meeting up” or “stopping by a café” or just “picking up a coffee” can’t take place if there is no Starbucks. What I am trying to say is more that in some countries with big chains there is sort of a cultural marker for certain cafés. I personally was surprised to find how few Starbucks there actually were in Sweden. Instead there are other cafés in Sweden and people meet up at different places. I was also surprised how few people new of the chain in Sweden, even though the chain owns more than 16 000 cafés in more than 50 different countries.