Assessing the attractiveness of the Swedish, Bulgarian and Nigerian markets for StarbucksStarbucks already has an existing connection with Sweden: CEO Howard Schultz has already worked with Hammarplast, "a "Swedish household goods company" company that marketed coffee machines” (Subhadra and Dutta, 2003). It was while working for this company that Schultz first learned about Starbucks, which was one of Hammarplast's major customers at the time. A relationship like this could be useful for marketing and branding purposes if Starbucks decides to enter the Swedish market. Sweden is also a fairly wealthy country and long-term member of the EU, making it likely that residents will have disposable income to spend on coffee and other drinks. However, as the country has been attractive to foreign investment for a long period of time, the coffee market could be highly competitive, with existing companies holding significant levels of market power. Indeed, Durevall (2007) investigated whether major multinational coffee exporters were exploiting their market power in domestic coffee markets by limiting demand for coffee bean imports by keeping consumer prices too high to allow market penetration. mass. Durevall found that the Swedish market structure was “typical of many coffee consumer markets, with four large roasting companies, two of them multinationals, plus many smaller ones.” (Durevall, 2007) As a result of this study, Durevall found that there was evidence of some market power in the short run, but none in the long run. This implies that better management of operations and brand could give a company long-term market power. The market for coffee and other beverages is also increasing in Sweden, as reported by Dairy Industries International (2001). This study measured milk consumption and found that it had increased significantly in previous years. The study found that this was largely driven by the consumption of coffee-based drinks, such as lattes and cappuccinos, and meant that milk drunk with coffee amounted to 140 million liters per year in 2001, or 10 million. % of Sweden's national milk consumption. Bulgaria is considered to be entering largely due to the strong economic growth it experienced following entry into the EU, with strong growth recorded in the years preceding entry (Emerging Europe Monitor, 2007). However, the coffee market in Bulgaria developed much earlier, with Business Eastern Europe (1999) reporting the launch of coffee by the Israeli company Elite in the Croatian market in November 1999, following successful operations in other Bulgarian countries. Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria..