Looking at this, the biggest drivers of CaféNova’s U.S. losses are labor and rent. Labor costs are more than twice as high as in Europe, which could stem from several factors: higher base wages in major U.S. cities, greater use of overtime due to staffing shortages, or high employee turnover driving constant training and onboarding expenses. Rent and utilities are also substantially higher, reflecting the premium leases for flagship locations in expensive urban markets. Together, these two categories explain most of the 50-point margin gap between Europe and the U.S., suggesting structural rather than demand-driven issues.

While both matter, the labor gap stands out as the most critical. It’s the largest single cost difference and may also tie into utilization and service model inefficiencies. I’d want to explore that further; do we have data on how U.S. staffing compares to Europe in terms of wages, turnover, and productivity per employee?