In recent years, it is common that coffee chains are expanding rapidly such as starbucks or compose coffees. It is widespread that the increase in the number of coffee chains does not threaten the survival of small local cafés because there are many people who prefer unique and cozy local cafes to chains. However, there is a pervasive opinion that the rapid increase in coffee chains threatens the survival of small local cafés. And I agree with this point of view.
First, big coffee chains can sell coffees in lower prices than local coffee shops because of economy of scale. Because big coffee companies buy massive amounts of coffee beans and machines they need, the expenditure on these is smaller than local shops which should spend much money on them. For example, compose coffee which is a popular coffee chain in Korea sells americano at about 1800won which is approximately half than local shops. For this reason, people who want to drink coffee at a lower price prefer chain shops.
Second, because coffee chains have a large budget, they can be located in well-found spots with huge sizes. In case of starbucks, they are always located in front of crosswalks so that citizens crossing the roads can find and come into them easily. In contrast, as many local cafes have small budget, the owners of them need to find places which are cheap but not seen easily such as second floor or underground spots. However, because many people in these days go to cafes to study or rest, they prefer big and well-found chain cafes. Because of them small local cafes continue to disappear.
In conclusion, I agree that the survival of local cafes is threatened due to economy of scale and the location of chain coffee shops.