An Investigation Of Starbucks Corporation

Truell, Allen, Milbier, & Michael (2007) said that promotion is one of the four Ps of marketing - price, product, place, and promotion. Promotion is generally thought of as a sequence of activities designed to inform and convince individuals to purchase a product, subscribe to a belief, or support a cause. All of the various tools available to marketing managers for promotional activities constitute what is known as the promotional mix. The promotional mix includes advertising, personal selling, public relations and sales promotion.

Starbucks is a major American company that was founded in 1971 by three college friends in Seattle, Washington. Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker at one time were all of different paths until they learned coffee roasting techniques from coffee entrepreneur, Alfred Peet (Starbucks Timeline, 2016). Alfred taught the three friends his particular style of roasting which ignited a spark in the trio and they were inspired to sell high quality coffee beans and roasting equipment. They soon started brainstorming names, and finally settled on Starbucks

Starbucks has always taken exceptional care in keeping its brand value.  In fact, Starbucks prides itself in its brand, particularly the power it has to keep its customer base strong. Before analyzing this loyal customer base it is best to consider the particular characteristics of the brand that has led to Starbucks having such devoted patrons.

Starbucks Corporation purchases and roasts high-quality coffees, along with beverages and fresh food items, throughout all company-operated stores. The consolidated financial statements reflect the financial position and operating results of Starbucks Corporation. Ratio Analysis was used to analyze the performance of Starbucks using the financial ratios of liquidity, solvency, and profitability. Calculations and amounts were provided in the excel spreadsheet labeled “Financial Ratios”. All data provided were conducted from the balance sheet and income statement accounts over the fiscal years 2015 and 2014. Starbucks Corporations ' fiscal years’ end on the Sunday closest to September 30 (sec.gov).

In general the coffeehouse industry in the United States was experiencing an increase in coffee consumption per capita due to the “Starbucks effect”. At this time Starbucks was operating approximately 20,000 stores in the United States and was living a fast expansion strategy worldwide.

Starbucks Corporation is an American coffeehouse chain founded in 1971 starting out as only one store retailing in whole bean, tea, and ground coffee in the Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington (Starbucks Company Profile, 2016). Starbucks comprises four operating segments along other non-reportable operating segments. The operating segments include Americas, China Pacific, EMEA, and Channel Development (Starbucks Company, 2016).

a) The nature of Starbucks’ business is to generate income based on operating activities. When referencing the Statement of Cash Flows and looking at their operating activities, you can see that Starbucks generates $2,908.3M in net cash provided by operating activities. Investment is a significant item in this statement as well. The company spent $785.9M in investments in the year ending September 29th, 2013. Strong investment activities show that Starbucks is investing through buying and selling (Sales, maturities, and calls of investments $1,040.2M) and using their spare cash to invigorate future growth and fund future obligations.

The Starbucks Company was founded in Seattle in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Seigel with a dream to inform American customers about the fine coffee drinking experience. In a short time, they became a multi-million-dollar company in the industry from a small coffee business house by keeping their standards high and only purchased premium quality coffee and by giving a unique experience to their customers. Currently, the company is considered on top in the coffee line, and has over 12,000 locations in more than 35 countries. (Starbucks Company Timeline)

Has Starbucks has done well in Turkey? What are some of the common growth drivers in terms of consumer characteristics, market characteristics, and entry strategies across USA and Turkey that might account for Starbucks’ success?

Regionally, they have experienced competition from coffeehouses such as Millstone Coffee, Caribou Coffee and recently Borders Coffee.

Three Seattle academics and entrepreneurs, English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker, started the Starbucks Corporation in 1997. Their primary product was the selling of whole bean coffee in one Seattle store. By early 1980's, this business had grown into four stores selling the coffee beans, a roasting facility, and a wholesale business for local restaurants. "There store did not offer fresh-brewed coffee sold by the cup, but tasting samples were sometimes available" (Thompson, Jr. et al, 2005). In 1982, Howard Schultz left his job as vice president and general manager of a Swedish company and assumed his new responsibilities as head of marketing and overseeing Starbucks

An Analysis of Starbucks Company History Starbucks was opened its first coffee company in Seattle’s Pike place Market on 1971. The name was taken from the first mate in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (Company Profile, 2005).

In making the decision to close a number of outlets in the United States, there were several factors that played into Starbucks' decision. These included the performance of the stores in question, and the company's expectations for the state of the US economy going forward. The long term plan for the company also played a significant role in the downsizing that the company went through.

With the financial system in strife, the stock market place tanking, it is imperative to commence your day with an enjoyable cup of coffee to endure some these life challenges. Gratifying everyday moments is just one way that it appears that Starbucks words denotes that they are not retailing solely coffee. They declare to be offering the coffee experience. The coffee bars that promote specialty coffee likewise gives consumers a setting where they can be able to be themselves. Starbucks presents themselves as the third location between home-based and office, where one can exodus, contemplate, study, converse or listen. They have developed into one of the prevalent competitors in the coffee commerce and appears to be still exploring for possibilities to magnify themselves. From a Christian worldview Mark 6:39 states, “Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass” (NKJ). Therefore, when situations seem impossible for an organization, it is possible when God is included in the plan.

Today, Coffee may be a large international business employing over 20 million individuals. This commodity ranks second solely to crude oil in terms of greenbacks listed worldwide. With over 400 billion cups consumed per annum, coffee is world’s preferred drink. within the U.S. sales of premium specialty coffees have reached the multibillion-dollar level and increasing considerably on an annual basis.