How Starbucks lost its cool

The news that the once-beloved, now-beleaguered coffee chain Starbucks is to fire nearly a thousand staff and close dozens of shops in both North America and Britain may not come as a surprise to many. Like many other relics of the Nineties – such as the Friends theme tune, Cool Britannia and vodka Red Bulls – Starbucks tends to be regarded with a mixture of affection and exasperation by its once-faithful patrons.

Now it seems like an anachronism as suited to 2025 as dial-up internet

Certainly, it was once the go-to spot for coffee in any cosmopolitan town or city, and carefully cultivated an air of proto-hipster chic that was at odds with the sugary, overpriced concoctions it served. But that was then, and now it seems like an anachronism as suited to 2025 as dial-up internet.

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