If the supposed café culture is so strong in Stafford town centre, a very successful national chain would be staying in the town centre.
Only time will tell whether Stafford will eat enough deserts.
Like any business, national or otherwise profit margin has to be considered against rising costs which can be rent and increasingly shared footfall.
If a landlord put rent up so high to hit profit margins potentially hitting profit or a business less sustainable then why stay?!
The current starbucks premises is well overpriced in rent and as I have mentioned before there have been issues with the building and the landlord to my understanding in getting things sorted/ fixed.
Many chains have used the threat of pulling out of a premises while negotiating lease terms....in stafford lone see burtons, greenwoods and millets multiple times, even the Works could be coming back to stafford for a third time, and more recently trespass and monsoon have used negotiating tactics..
From a business angle there is also business savvy to take into account. Is the town becoming over saturated with the same thing, so it makes sense to look at an avenue to increase footfall and revenue and tapping into something others are not. So getting into a significant premises on a commonly used retail park with free parking on a main route makes complete business sense. Think of it as an expansion or upgrade. Clever really.