I was surprised to learn that (in the Feb. 7 issue) Starbucks Corp., which is one of the well-known coffee chains, hadn't performed very well in its business, partly due to a new low-price competitor, the McCafe coffee chain.

I remember that McDonald's Corp. started to open McCafe coffee shops last year and I thought at that time that they would find it difficult to survive as there are long-established coffee shops like Starbucks.

However, I learned that McCafe coffee shops are actually performing very well, resulting in Starbucks having to downsize its business by closing down 300 underperforming shops around the world.

It is true that Starbucks and other long-established coffee shops serve delicious but expensive coffee. It is understandable that many people have begun to sacrifice the delicious coffee to save money in this recission.

I must admit that I was wrong in assuming that McDonald's would fail in the coffee chain business and that it is actually thriving with the coffee chain as well as with the conventional fast-food chain.

I never fail to read the "Giveaway" section in the Weekly every week. I applied to the "Giveaway" several times, and fortunately, I received some learning materials with CDs. They are very helpful for me to practice speaking English.

In my experience, it is difficult to find English materials at local bookstores for advanced learners, especially related to speaking and writing. I hope the "Giveaway" section provides information about these high-quality learning materials.

It has been 10 years since I started subscribing to the Weekly to improve my English ability. The paper has occasionally changed its layout and contents, to make it easier to read and look more interesting, and I found something fresh whenever I noticed the change.

In addition, I learned that people have various opinions and see things from different angles by reading this "Readers' Voice" column. I hope I can write my opinions like other readers whose English expression is superior.

One request is that I hope even brief news has both facts, and political, historical and cultural background to understand the cause of the incident in the news.

Although I still hesitate to read science-related news, I would like to be familiar with various fields. I expect the Weekly to provide a wide variety of topics, including political, economic, cultural, social and science news.

The Weekly gives me difficulty and pleasure. Practically, it is hard for me to read smoothly because there are so many difficult words. But the paper does not allow me to stop reading due to its intriguing articles.

It gives me the chance to think deeply about the world. I am always lacking sleep for taking too much time to read. But I believe that keeping on reading will make my English skill progress and lead to adequate sleep.

Thank you for providing such interesting articles.

The Japan Times Weekly: March 7, 2009
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