[mseebach]

People practically never follow through on actual actions to back up their "principles" - to the point where the Starbucks next to the Occupy London was, well, occupied. If not even people who sleep in tents on the pavements for weeks are principled enough to forego Starbucks coffee, don't count on the average guy to be.

So I'd venture a guess that Starbucks UK haven't seen any real decrease in sales - rather, it's probably their PR people who figures it's better to be seen as "responsible", as you put it, to not irritate the natives.