McDonald's yesterday introduced its McCafe to China's seven major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. McCafe, the freshly boiled coffee sold at about one-third the price a cup in Starbucks, is expected to raise a turf war against other coffee chains specialized in brewing fresh coffee but sold it at a higher price. [Shanghai Daily]
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think that McDonald's and Starbucks are competing for the same customers, even if they both serve "freshly boiled coffee." As crappy as a latte from Starbucks is, you can't really compare it to the generic drip stuff served at McD's. Mind you, these places are all second tier establishments; third tier includes places that give you instant Nescafe, which is a perfect drink for people who are either exceptionally lazy or who need something easy when they go camping.
It also goes without saying that ambience counts. Chains here in Beijing like SPR and Pacific do have sofas and comfortable chairs, and people do like to loiter on their laptops while swilling their nasty coffee-ish beverages.
Just putting "Cafe" in your name doesn't mean that more people will enjoy sitting for hours in hard plastic chairs.
If I want a strong cup of drip coffee and a hard plastic chair, my vote is Dunkin' Donuts — not in China quite yet unfortunately. When I was living in Boston, Dunkin' Donuts was the coffee joint of choice, particularly on Saturday and Sunday mornings following a drink-up at an Irish bar. You go in, ask the fat woman behind the counter for a large black coffee, she says something unintelligible back to you in a Revere accent, you pay your $1.25, grab your coffee, and sit in a hard plastic chair until the hangover nausea goes away. When you can, you go back up to the lady from Revere and order a "sausage," "cheese," and "egg" sandwich on a "croissant" for breakfast — extra cholesterol, please!
Maybe I'm biased, but I think that in a real coffee war, Dunkin' Donuts would wipe the floor with anything called "McCafe."
Tags: China Business & Economy
© Stan for China Hearsay, 2009. |
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