Thanks for the kind words. in my city, there are only 3 Caffe Nero shops whilst Starbucks has about 7 in the centre and another 2-3 drive-through style shops on the edge of town. The same goes for Costa who also have their own portable coffee machines in 9 out of 10 petrol stations.
As for independent coffee shops there aren't too many (maybe 4 off the top of my head) but I would like to visit them regardless.