- Associated Press Newswire -
McDonald\'s is set to take on Starbucks in Japan with a new chain of coffee shops brewing up bargain lattes, the fast food chain recently said. The Japan unit of U.S.-based McDonald\'s Corp. will launch 15 pilot "McCafe" stores in the Tokyo area on August 29, according to a company release.McDonald's is set to take on Starbucks in Japan with a new chain of coffee shops brewing up bargain lattes, the fast food chain said Thursday.
The Japan unit of U.S.-based McDonald's Corp. will launch 15 pilot "McCafe" stores in the Tokyo area on August 29, according to a company release.
The stores, the burger chain's first foray into the coffee shop business, will offer drinks at low prices to target families, the release said. McDonald's said it will consider opening McCafes across Japan in the next fiscal year.
The cafe business in Japan has been shrinking and stood at 1.052 trillion yen (US$8.61 billion) in 2006, down 5 percent from the previous year.
Still, sales at specialty coffee shops like Starbucks have soared. The Seattle-based coffee chain, which launched in Japan in 1997, has almost 700 stores across the country and saw sales jump 16 percent last year to 78.9 billion yen (US$646 million).