Competitive Strategic Approaches used by Starbuck Essay

Starbucks has developed a brand image that has revolutionized coffee drinking experience. It has created an ambiance that is designed to attract customers and keep them coming back to Starbucks stores. It offers wide varieties of services such as comfortable seating areas with unique music and free wireless Internet for their customers while sipping their favorite coffee. This distinctiveness sets Starbucks apart from most of its competitors and has allowed the company to successfully grow and profit while charging premium prices for their products.

Starbucks was bought out by current CEO Howard Schultz in 1987. Since then, Andrew Harrer (2012) reports the company has grown to operate over “17,244 stores worldwide” (para. 1). Fortune (n.d.) reports in its yearly 100 Best Companies to Work for that Starbucks employs “some 95,000 employees”. From only a handful of stores in 1987 to a billion dollar franchise today, the success of Starbucks is due in great deal to their corporate culture, specifically how employees, or as Starbucks calls them, partners are treated. Joseph Michelli (2007) echoes this sentiment, “A great cup of coffee is only part of the Starbucks success equation” (p. 767).

Starbucks is rated as the number one World’s leading coffee distributor. Customers satisfactions are always be in the center of their business and the company works consistently to maintain it as customer look forward to a unique experience when visiting one of Starbuck stores. With over 12,000 stores worldwide, Starbucks has always aimed at achieving and maintaining competition in the industry.  Starbucks success reside in many factors :  the company is admire and respected worldwide,employees are recognized and respected for what they contribute to the success of the company. Open communication

Starbucks started its growth in the early 1990s, with a game plan for Atmosphere, Quality Coffee, Customer Service, and Partner (employee) Satisfaction. Customers find the stores Welcoming and friendly for a great place to meet friends for a great cup of coffee or a local place for a great cup of coffee and a good book. Starbucks worked with coffee growers to offer a consistent brew and enforcing standards that have become the industry’s norms. Starbucks have put a lot into their training program to ensure properly trained employees to provide that consistent cup of coffee as well as improve employee retention. Starbucks believed in happy employees would promote a better experience for the customer. Since the 90s Starbucks have followed their 3 step plan. 1. Atmosphere: Every time you walk into a Starbucks, you know you will be greeted with a smile and a friendly attitude. 2. Continuity of Brand and Product: Every Starbucks has a similar feel, and your drink order will taste the same whether you are in New York or Spain. 3. Employee Satisfaction and Training: The training of the staff, in both how to be personable with customers and knowledge of the product offering

Starbucks has created a competitive advantage with their product quality by setting themselves apart from their competitors. “The Company has stayed with the upper-scale of the coffee market, competing on comfort rather than convenience, which is the case with its closest competitors, McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts” (Mourdoukoutas, Panos). Consumers believe they are receiving a better product and experience when they purchase from a Starbucks as opposed to another large food service company that may sell coffee.

starbucks Corp., an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington, has expanded rapidly since its opening in 1971. These outrageous success was due to its well-developed strategy vision which lay out the company's strategic course in developing and strengthening its business. Starbucks is a global corporation that sells authentic coffee in 30 countries, reporting revenues of nearly $5.1 billion in 2006. The main goal of Starbucks is to embrace diversity by applying the highest standards of excellence. Starbucks strives to perfect the relationship with the working class by making the service as fast as possible because they believe that every customer has their own personal rate. One

Starbuck’s began their journey in the coffee market with the grand opening of a small cafe, back in 19711. The name for this company is quite unique and there is a clear back story behind this. The original owners were inspired by the story of Moby Dick and its thought to “evoke the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders.” Since the first Starbucks store, the company was famous for its community development and its active participation within society. Starbucks began to witness great change within their company once their management changed, in 1987 Harvard Shultz was appointed the Chief executive officer. Inspired by the traditional Italian design, Schultz adapted this design and integrated it within the lighting, layout and music choice played in the cafe’s. As a

It’s all about the coffee for Starbucks. Starbuck’s core competence is in its ability to effectively leverage its coffee product to entice customers to be repeat customers. There are several ways that they have achieved this successfully.

Starbucks has made a success offering the consumers something different than nice store bought brands of coffee. Howard Schultz acquired Starbucks in 1987 he wanted to copy the idea of espresso bars that he saw on his visit to Milan. His idea was to provide the consumer a place where they could relax and socialize with coworkers or friends that he called the third place. (Ferrell & Hartline, 2013).

Starbucks utilizes a differentiation business model by offering an overall unique and high quality experience for the consumer. From the high-quality food and drink options, to the uniquely roasted coffee and supreme customer service, Starbucks aims to provide an experience unobtainable anywhere else. Starbucks also focuses heavily on rapid expansion by seeking out profitable geographical areas and overcrowding those areas with stores in order to exploit profits and slow down competitors. Starbucks’ compliments this with its horizontal acquisition strategy, extending their product line through acquisition of competitors. This provides Starbucks with a differentiation strategy focused on providing a diversified product mix

Similarly, companies such as Starbucks was affected by changes in leadership and competing with other companies that also saturated the market. Starbuck was a very successful company because they was able to provide a relaxed atmosphere that allowed people to converse with family and friends, have meeting, read, and use internet access all while drinking a cup of coffee. Starbucks customer flow was beginning to decline because the customer were growing tired of spending $4 for a cup of coffee when they can get similar coffee at the competitor i.e. McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, or Seattle’s Best. In 2008, Starbucks listened to the customer and began revitalizing and going back to the basics. They removed distracting items from countertops such as books, CDs, breakfast sandwiches and began to focus on the product itself which was coffee. In making these changes, Starbucks was able to slowly start growing again and was able to continue to make strive to internationalize.

Starbucks advertises two essential mission statements. First and foremost, it strives to “establish [ourselves] as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while [we] grow(s).” (Starbucks) Reflective of its mission, Starbucks bases its strategic campaign and communications on six indispensable philosophies; structuring a pleasant work environment in which employees are treated with “respect and dignity,” incorporating diversity in all business aspects, purchasing, roasting and delivering fresh coffee, retaining satisfied customers, giving back to the community and environment, and developing

Starbuck’s missions, values, and principles are directly related to their generic strategy of broad differentiation. Each one of these elements explains how Starbucks is just not offering just coffee, but an experience. In the stores, they complement this by bringing several items to the table (product variety). In addition, Starbucks has positioned themselves in the focus differentiation and treacherously close to best supply category. Starbucks has used the Verismo to position themselves back into the focus section because it is a specialty item that Starbucks aficionados might want in their home. However, Starbucks is going against the grain with the Via products because of its low costs. This is risky because people buy Starbuck for the experience and the high quality coffee, not because it is cheap.

The CEO (Chief Executive Officer), Howard Schultz pointed that the main reason from the decline of “Starbucks Experience” was that the number of Starbucks shops increased sharply from only 1,000 to 13,000 within ten years. Other people considered their brand has been commercialized, and the customers hadn’t had enough enthusiasms to appreciate every moment of their coffee any longer. He suggested that Starbucks should re-find its origin. Nevertheless, his advice apparently was opposite to the

This case assignment discusses the history of Starbuck’s accomplishments as they entered the American coffee culture heritage. In 1983, The chairman and CEO Howard Schultz traveled to Italy and had a dream to carry the Italy coffeehouse ritual back to the United States. Schultz was focused on creating an environment meeting company that makes good coffee but also be a social experiment. Starbucks today opened more than 19,000 stores functioning in 62 countries. Starbucks has numerous rewards that globalization has offered and they have significantly benefited from it, while in the coffee industry. Starbucks has a wide-range in marketing strategies to benefit the customers. During the different obstacles that Starbucks has encountered, they must stay reliable in quality and uphold to adjust to different customer values.