Almost anywhere in the world you travel, you can find a little piece of America at McDonald's. Locations of this fast food giant are all over the place, making it a somewhat familiar refuge for homesick American tourists.
However, in the coming years, things are expected to change a bit, and Americans traveling abroad could soon be making more pit stops for Pike Place Roasts rather than Big Macs. That's because Starbucks Corp. is trending toward becoming the world’s most valuable restaurant chain. According to Nomura analyst Mark Kalinowski, the coffee chain is even expected to soon dethrone McDonald's.
Bloomberg recently reported Kalinowski's predictions, which included an estimate that the number of Starbucks locations worldwide will increase 8.4 percent in 2017. The trend analyst explained that Starbucks has the upper hand when in comes to expanding because "there’s more room for growth in the beverage industry — and less competition — giving Starbucks an edge over McDonald’s and other more food-focused rivals."
According to Bloomberg, the coffee company has set a goal of having 37,000 cafes around the world by 2021, and Kalinowski believes Starbucks will eventually have more than 50,000 open locations. What wonderful news for all of us Frappuccino obsessives.