International Marketing of Starbucks

International marketing or business is uniquely different from the local market because the product price, place and promotion is vastly different from what is been offered to local customers (Johansson, 2000) With the emergence of the information technology, cross border marketing has never been a distant dream. However, it has never been easier even for giant multinational companies to face challenges that come in international business. The biggest challenge comes from the culture which varies from country to country.

Seattle based, Starbucks Corporation is the leading coffeehouse chain in the world. The company has its operations in more than 44 countries. The main products offered by Starbucks various kinds of drinks, snacks, coffee beans. The company also operates in the field of marketing of music, books (The Company, 2008).

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

Many companies today want to expand their business to the international business, which can bring cost down and profits up. Taking a business internationally means knowing the rules and regulations of the countries you are entering. There can be many issues with going global which include cultural barriers, diversity issues, multicultural issues, political issues, and economical issues. It is very important to know how important expansion is to the company and what implications will come from going global.

Many multinational corporations in the coffee industry have succeeded tremendously such as Starbucks. Each of these corporations has strategies that helped them continue to expand to nations of different cultures, ethnicities, governmental practices, and locations.

Starbucks coffee company is one of the most powerful American Corporations, it founded in 1971, inside a historic public market called Pike Place Market in Seattle Washington by three partners (lee, n.d). Starbucks company commenced with a small shop specializing in brewing products and providing high-quality coffee addition to teas, today it become a leading retailer of specialty beans, large variety coffee beverages, different pastries, and snacks, with approximately 24,000 stores in over 70 countries such as Belgium, Brazil, china, and Cyprus, and it is serving millions of costumers daily with unique product and premium prices (“Starbucks company profile,” n.d). The main international competitors of Starbucks are Costa the British coffee

International marketing is the export, franchising, joint venture or full direct entry of a marketing organization into another country. • To bring countries closer for trading purpose and to encourage large scale free trade among the countries of the world. • To bring integration of economies of different countries and there by to facilitate the process of globalization of trade. • To establish trade relations among the nations and thereby to maintain cordial relations among nations for maintaining world peace. • To facilitates and encourage social and cultural exchange among different countries of the world. • To provide better life and welfare to people from different countries of the world. • To provide assistance

By item, we can see that some of Starbucks product position in the business. In the stage of introduction, Starbucks products, for instance, frozen yogurt and coffee in business is new a product. At that point, Starbucks stores in a couple of nations like Japan, China, and Singapore ,Indonesia, and fundamentally in Asia are a star thing because it has a high market advancement where the association push Starbucks to wind up lifestyle for people especially in urban zone in these nations.

Starbucks is undoubtedly an international brand. The history of coffee traces back to Ethiopia, Africa, India, Arabia, and Europe, and has been traded abroad since the 11th century. Understanding the demand and widespread market for coffee, Starbucks has triumphantly capitalized both the domestic market, and the varied international markets as well. Possessing about 6,500 retail sites worldwide, Starbucks’ net is spread across thirty countries and has been found as one of the most recognized brands all over the globe in equality to McDonalds and Toyota. This organization’s ability to build an international brand has been unprecedented- particularly since it represents a specialty

First, Starbucks has effectively applied the product differentiation strategy. To achieve it, the company has specialized in different product mixes, aligned its business locations to a specific ambiance that suits the context, and varied the customer experience, thus resulting in a higher customer service satisfaction. Further, Coskun, Basligil, and Baracli (2008) note that Starbucks prides in having their customers enjoy a premium service. Therefore, the company’s signature strategy has worked well thus far, as competitors find it difficult to imitate. Second, the enterprise has coordinated its acquisition and portfolio strategy, thus consolidating the market. As discussed in the background chapter, Starbucks has a portfolio network of eight brands under its stable. Third, Starbucks’ international expansion strategy has worked well, with a presence in 70 countries (Starbucks, 2017). These factors, coupled with its financial capability, offer Starbucks an edge over its

Starbucks used many tactics to reduce its distance from foreign markets. Firstly, Starbucks conducted extensive research in each country. They used focus groups, and quantitative analysis, to evaluate local cultural sensitivities and preferences. But it also used specific local adaptations. For

Starbucks extends their coffee experience to everyone: kids, teenagers and adults. Part of their success comes from their ability to create new products that fit the culture of the country. In Japan, for instance, Starbucks launched green tea lattes, which later became popular in other countries (Allison). Starbucks is well established in countries like Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom. In the US alone, Starbucks sells 4 million cups of coffee per day (Horovitz). Their products and services have transformed the way customers view coffee. Changing the way customers order, Starbucks makes it very chic to purchase custom drinks. Starbucks is like no other coffee shop: the dimmed lights

The world offers significant business opportunities for every company, however, opportunities are accompanied by significant challenges for managers. Managing global operations across diverse cultures and markets represents a big challenge and opportunity for companies. To compete in the global market and be successful, companies must learn the strategies, policies, norms and technology necessary to conduct international business. The opportunities for global expansion are numerous, and attaining success is a matter of developing the right strategy to win local markets and its consumers.

According to the case, in order to serve their customers with more than mere coffee, Starbucks strived to create their stores with a distinct feel, yet comfortable, relating to the cultural setting of a location. This made Starbucks fit its interior décor to the local architecture, especially in historic buildings. Also, Starbucks was willing (flexible) enough to adapt the food it offered in-store to local taste. For example, in Asia, Starbucks offers curry puffs and meat buns contrary to what is offered in North America or Britain.

Starbucks’ retail entry model in the United States does not have the same strategy as their international model. In the states Starbucks holds great control as a corporation, but in international territory, country partnerships, cultural, government laws and politics play a very important role in Starbucks’ entry strategy. Starbucks has set it sights globally since the coffee market has come close to saturation in the U.S. which will give them the opportunity to continue to expand without fierce competition. Starbucks has looked to countries like India and other emerging markets with great growth potential to set down new roots. Starbucks recognizes India as a great choice to expand business internationally but also recognizes the complexity in the same market after several attempts to enter without success.