Starbucks Operating Leverage

In 2015, Starbucks continued to be the “premier roaster, marketer and retailer of specialty coffee in the world” (“Form 10-K”, 2016). For the 2015 fiscal year, Starbucks continued to provide record financial results and record cash returns to shareholders.

* Return on Sales (ROS) – ROS is the percentage of each dollar of sales that is left as a profit. For example if a company has $100 in revenue and $20 in profit, at the end of the period they have a ROS of 20%. ROS is best used when compared to other companies within the same industry. This is because different industries can have different levels of ROS depending on the competitiveness level. Competiveness can drive prices down overall in the industry, which will drive down ROS for all companies. A high ROS can indicate premium pricing in the industry or great efficiency where as a low ROS can be an indicator of financial trouble such as a company slashing prices just to garner

Financial performance measures, such as operating income and return on investment, indicate whether the company’s strategy

A number of analytical techniques can be used to evaluate a company’s environment. Starbucks will be analyzed using the following marketing techniques:

Starbucks Corporation, generally known, as Starbucks Coffee is the leading retailer and a brand of world’s forte coffee in the world, with more than 15,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim, wherever in this world where premium quality coffee is in demand. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world ahead of UK rival Costa Coffee, with 20737 stores in 63 countries and territories, including 11910 in the United States, 1496 in China, 1442 in Canada, 1052 in Japan and 772 in the United Kingdom. The first Starbucks was open in 1970. The name was inspired from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, a definitive American novel regarding the 19th century whaling industry. The nautical name matches seamlessly for a store that imports the world’s finest coffees to the cold thirsty people of Seattle. In May 1998, Starbucks have finally successfully entered the European market through its acquirement of 65 Coffee Company stores initially originated from Seattle in the UK. Both companies shared a common culture, focusing on a great commitment to customized coffee, similar company values and a mutual respect.

The setting of a business compels most when there is a viable opportunity for the firm, organization or venture to succeed. It is in this pursuit for success that most firms are seeking the service off establishing and determining the performance of the firms. Measuring firm performance has several means of doing, however, the most commonly used one is the Return on Assets (Rumelt, 2011). Return on assets is a measurement methodology that assesses various factors and matrices in the line of action. However, most firms focus on the financial side of the venture, diverting their attention from the most compelling basis of the metric method. Return on assets is a tool that requires a critical and careful selection of the base criteria for measuring the success of the firm or company. However, focusing on the financial side only leaves the investors happy but the firm stagnating.

* Starbucks expanded to pursue sales of products in a variety of distribution channels and market segments. Products were marketed to restaurants, airlines, hotels, universities, hospitals, business offices, country clubs, and select retailers. In the airline industry, Starbucks coffee was served in flights United Airlines and United Airlines. Packets of Starbucks coffee along with coffee making equipment were made available in each room in Hyatt, Hilton, Sheraton, Radisson and Westin Hotels. Coffee service was also provided in several Wells Fargo banks in California. Foodservice distributors such as Sysco

Operating costs are expenses supplementary with the operations, maintenance and administration of a business on a daily basis. The operating cost is a component of operating income and is customarily included on a company’s income statement. A business's operating costs consist of f two core constituents, fixed costs and variable costs. A fixed cost does not change with an increase or decrease in sales or productivity and must be paid regardless of the company's activity or performance (Lowengrub, 2016). A variable costs changes in direct proportion to the change in production. If production increases, those costs are variable and linked to the change in production.

There are many ways to analyze the performance of a company, some more popular than others. According to the Barney text the accounting method is the most popular way of measuring a firm's performance (Barney, 2002). Some of the reasons for the popularity could include the fact that accounting measures of performance are publicly available on many firms and they communicate a great deal of information about a firm's operations. Other methods of performance analysis include firm survival and the multiple stakeholder approach.

Accounting helps to measure an organizations activities, process data into reports, and translate the results to decision makers. Financial statements and reports help to present the company to the public in financial terms. The information on these data statements can used to evaluate the company through vertical and horizontal analysis. Vertical analysis is the proportional analysis of a financial statement. Normally, vertical analysis is done with a financial statement over a period of time. When using vertical analysis, a line item on a financial statement is listed as a percentage of another item (Harrison, 2015). A horizontal analysis is the comparison of information or ratios over a series of reporting periods. Horizontal analysis helps investors and analysts to control how a company has grown over time. Analysts and investors could use horizontal analysis to compare a company's growth rates in relation to its competitors and industry.

The company that I am writing about is Starbucks, the international coffee shop chain. The company's financial statements for this analysis are from the FY2011 Annual Report and 10-K. The company has 10787 stores in the United States, of which 38% are franchised and the remainder are company-owned. The franchise model is more common when the company operates internationally. There are 6216 Starbucks stores internationally and of these 63% are franchises, with just 37% company-owned. The franchise model for international expansion has been utilized to help Starbucks expand quickly in foreign countries and to mitigate foreign political risk and to ensure that the product/service offering is tailored to local tastes (Thompson, 2012). The company is now in the process of buying back some overseas franchise stores in order to retain more profits for itself (Franchise Press, 2011). This paper will take a look at the company's most recent annual report to analyze the financial statements.

1.Analyze the business-level strategies for the corporation you chose to determine the business-level strategy you think is most important to the long-term success of the firm and whether or not you judge this to be a good choice. Justify your opinion.

This paper will explore the science of Managerial Economics, the cost effective management of scarce resources, through an exploration of the Starbucks Company. This will include an assessment of relevant market forces, market structure and the economic theories that guide business decisions for this company.

West Company's cost structure will include a larger proportion of variable costs than East Company's cost structure. A firm's operating leverage factor, at a particular sales volume, is defined as its total contribution margin divided by its net income. Since East Company has proportionately higher fixed costs, it will have a proportionately higher total contribution margin. Therefore, East Company's operating leverage factor will be higher.

These days Starbucks owns more than 18,000 stores in 62 countries and is the premier roaster and retailer of exclusive coffee in the world. Back in 1971, when the first Starbucks opened, the company already had two intentions to give to people every single day till now: share specialty coffee with friends and help to make the world a little better.