Starbucks In U.K., Ireland Battles Economic Slowdown With Offer Of Free Coffee Refill

July 30, 2008 1:40 p.m. EST

London, England (AHN) - Starbucks in the United Kingdom and Ireland will offer free coffee refills to all customers to stop the drastic dip in customers who are sacrificing their favorite brew during difficult times.

The offer is indefinite and will likely result to a coffee war with Costa Coffee and Cafe Nero. Starbucks, in a statement, said the aim of the promo is "to engage the customer with the coffee experience."

The popular coffee chain has 670 outlets in the U.K. Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz announced recently the closure of 600 poor performing shops in the U.S. He followed it up with another announcement on Tuesday that the chain's 61 of 84 outlets in Australia will be shuttered. The 61 are the underperforming branches.

The move will result to almost 700 Australian baristas becoming jobless. The 61 will close by Aug 3, leaving only 23 stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane open.