Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Markets and Companies

During the boom time, DC Holding, the parent company of Double Coffee, expanded to all Baltic States and planned to open 100 cafes.

In the opinion of competitors, Double Coffee was expanding too fast and did not adjust to local markets.

"They had a good concept, but it was not enough to be successful in Estonia. They were expanding during the boom, had to pay high rents and had problems in hiring staff," said Rene Treifeldt, the CEO of Reval Cafe, a competitor.

According to Treifeldt, some Double Coffee coffeeshops were closed only after two, or three months.

"Nothing good can come from when the staff does not know where the owner is," he said. "I don't believe that we will see other larger and better-known cafes go out of business. On the contrary, we are having more cafes on the market since several restaurants have converted themselves into cafes."

Double Coffee was founded in Latvia in 2002. The company ended last year with a loss of 31 million kroons at sales of only 25 million kroons. The company's Estonian arm owes the state 3.2 million kroons in taxes.