Espresso House

Espresso House is the largest coffeehouse chain in the Nordic countries.[1][2] Founded in Lund, Sweden in 1996 by Elisabet and Charles Asker, in March 2018 it has over 430 locations throughout Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Germany.

Espresso House
Industry
Founded1996 (1996) in Lund, Sweden.
Founder
  • Elisabet Asker
  • Charles Asker
Headquarters
Stockholm
,
Sweden
Number of locations
430 (2018)
Area served
Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, and Sweden
Revenue1.4 billion SEK (2018)
125.368 million SEK (2018)
-4.940 million SEK (2018)
Total equity76.820 million SEK
Number of employees
1697 (December 2018)
ParentJAB Holding Company (2015)
SubsidiariesJohan & Nyström
Websiteespressohouse.com

History

Espresso House was founded by the couple Elisabet and Charles Asker with the coffee bar Café Java in Gothenburg. The first café bearing the name Espresso House opened on street Kyrkogatan in Lund 1996.[3] In 2005 the chain consisted of sixteen different cafes, which in March 2018 had expanded to 430 coffee shops.[4] All bread and pastry served is baked by the central bakery Espresso House Bakery in Malmö.[5]

Organisation

JAB Holding Company, who in connection with the purchase of Espresso House also bought Baresso Coffee in Denmark, decided during the fall of 2016 that all 45 cafés in the Danish chain would convert to Espresso House.[6]

Something relative unique for Espresso House is that all coffee houses are owned centrally, unlike similar chains, for example Starbucks, that use franchising.[4][7]

Until September 2012 Espresso House was owned by the British private equity firm Palamon Capital Partners, that also acquired the coffee shop chain Coffee Cup that started in Stockholm 1997. The two brands were united under Espresso House. In September 2012 the chain was acquired by the Norwegian private equity firm Herkules Capital, that sold it on in 2015 to the German family business JAB Holding Company.[8]

Locations

As of October 2018 there were more than 400 stores in the following countries:

Country Number of stores
Denmark 52
Finland 44
Norway 44
Sweden 243
Germany 9

Impact

Espresso House has been compared to Starbucks in North America as far as its ubiquity and spread. In Norway the chain has become a symbol of gentrification and "commercial monoculture".[9][10][11][12]

References
  1. "Largest Nordic Coffee Chain Espresso House Bought by JAB". 2 June 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2017. JAB Holding Company has reached a deal to buy the Nordic region’s largest branded coffee chain, Espresso House, including 193 shops in Sweden and Norway.
  2. "Nye tyske ejere lukker Baresso" (in Danish). Fyens Stiftstidende. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2017. Espresso House er den største kaffekæde i Norden med flere end 220 kaffebarer i Sverige, Norge, Finland og Danmark.
  3. "Så började det" [How it began]. Espresso House (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  4. "Om oss" [About us]. Espresso House (in Swedish). March 2018. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  5. "På menyn". Espresso House (in Swedish). Allt bröd och alla bakverk som vi serverar är bakat med kärlek och omsorg på Espresso House Bakery, vårt alldeles egna bageri som är beläget i Malmö. För att alltid kunna leverera färska produkter till våra coffee shops så fryser vi ned dem så fort de tagits ur ugnen, givetvis nygräddat.
  6. "Så er det slut med kendt kaffebar i Danmark" [That is the end of well-known coffee shop in Denmark]. B.T. (in Danish). 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  7. "Franchised Stores". Starbucks. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  8. Butovitsch, Katarina (8 June 2015). "Espresso House får tyska ägare" [Espresso House get German owners]. Dagens Industri (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  9. Mcpherson, Ben (4 May 2015). "Vet du hva jeg hater? Starbucks. Vet du hva jeg hater mer? Espresso House". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  10. Nordbø, Dagfinn (8 March 2016). "Kjedehelvete". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  11. Imeland, Vilde (19 March 2016). "Kjedelig utvikling? Espresso House overtar for Grünerløkkas mest kjente matbutikk, og Burger King åpner i Torggata". Natt og Dag (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  12. Fremstad, Hanne Sofie (29 March 2016). "- Løkka er blitt en catwalk". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 28 November 2017.
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