Seoulites pay most for priciest Starbucks Americano

/Korea Times file

By Rachel Lee

The price of a Starbucks Americano is pricier in Seoul than other major cities, according to a consumer report released this week.

Local civic group, Consumers Korea, said Starbucks stores in Seoul sell the most expensive cup of Americano among 13 cities. The cities surveyed in the report included Paris, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Madrid and New York.

A “tall-sized” Americano sells for 4,100 won, followed by Paris (4,023 won) and Beijing (3,679 won). The price is the lowest in New York at 2,477 won (price equivalent).

Lattes are also comparatively expensive in Seoul, selling for 4,600 won for a tall size, the second-most-expensive price. That drink is most expensive in Paris, selling for the equivalent of 5,114 won for the same size drink.

Starbucks’ price hikes have raised concerns here. The Seattle-based coffee company has increased its prices three times over the past five years. Since 2007, the price of an Americano has gone up 23 percent, the report said.

“Even two years ago, Seoul ranked sixth in term of price, and it’s gone up dramatically,” Yoon Myung, a Consumers Korea spokeswoman, told The Korea Times.

“It’s part of the chain’s marketing policy to raise the price every two years,” Yoon claimed. “Starbucks and other coffee chains should adjust their prices to a reasonable, affordable level.”

Starbucks, however, criticized the way that the coffee prices were studied by the civic group.

“Our drink prices are set based on the market conditions of the country and it’s not appropriate to compare our prices with other countries because each country has different operation costs,” a Starbucks Korea spokesman said.

Despite being tea-drinkers historically, Koreans have come to love coffee and Café Americano, in particular, has long been the most popular coffee drink in the country.

According to Starbucks Korea, 30.7 million Americanos were sold in 2013, becoming the chain’s most popular drink for a seventh consecutive year. The second-most-popular were lattes (16.7 million cups), followed by the Caramel Macchiato (5.3 million) and Green Tea Frappuccino (3.4 million).

Starbucks opened its first store here in 1999 and currently operates 650 outlets across the country. It posted a net profit of 25.6 billion won ($25 million) in 2013, up 35 percent from 18.9 billion won a year earlier, according to data filed with the Financial Supervisory Service.