Castle Hill. 'Coffee is recession proof'

Nabi Saleh, executive chairman, of Gloria Jean’s Coffees International, based at Castle Hill, has earmarked at least 50 new stores this year, in a market in which sales were flat at the onset of the financial turmoil over a year ago, but have since risen by 3 per cent. “I would even go so far as to say coffee is recession proof,” he said in The Australian Financial Review. Tim Emmereon, of research firm, BIS Shrapnel, said going out for an expresso “has really become a way of life now”.Gloria Jeans has 854 stores around the world.