Results of the Applications of the Five Forces Model in Starbucks

Caribou coffee went public in 2005 reporting sales of $ 191 M in 2005. The firm expects to add 40 new outlets in 2005 and another 130 in 2006.

While there are various brands such as: Folgers, Maxwell House, and Chock Full O’ Nuts you can typically find everyone carrying a Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts cup. Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are the top two competitors when it comes to coffee. I personally am caught between the two. On one hand, you have Starbucks, they have great tasting coffee but is very overpriced. Dunkin’ Donuts while doesn’t have all the flavors Starbucks has, is less than half the price of Starbucks. The amount of money you pay for a small ice coffee in Starbucks you can get a large one at Dunkin’ Donuts.

Although the competition for Starbucks remains at an all-time high, they continue to have 32.8% of the market share. Starbucks has 23,043 stores both, licensed and company operated, worldwide. Their nearest competitor, according to Statista.com (2016) is Dunkin’ Donuts, with 10,858 stores worldwide, retaining 16.1% of the market share (“Starbucks Fiscal”, 2016).

The “Coffee Wars – The Big Three: Starbucks, McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts” article focuses on the company analysis of the Starbucks brand and how its main competitors, McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts, has affected their brand and driven competition higher. Even though there are many companies trying to enter the specialty coffee market, these three companies own the majority of the market share. With Starbucks’ top quality and above average prices they hold a different market than the fast coffee/food market of Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks; yet the competitive moves Dunkin’ Donuts has made over the years in order to compete with Starbucks and surpass McDonald’s has driven competition up between all three companies. The competition has stiffened ever more in the past ten years due to the changing economy. This led to “the big three” to come up with different techniques to gain competitive advantage over the other. Although the competition between these companies is to gain most of the market share, consumers are still loyal to a certain brand; this makes it difficult to gain each other’s clientele. McDonald’s continues to appeal to customers who want value and speed, Dunkin’ Donuts focuses on the middle-class, while Starbucks a customer who desires a higher quality product along with being recognized for using the brand.

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

Starbucks operates in 65 countries offering specialty coffee, tea, and food items to patrons through company-operated stores (Starbucks Corporation, 2014). Moreover, Starbucks sells trademarked items such as coffee grounds and pre-packaged drinks through grocery stores and similar channels (2014). In 2014, there were 21,366 stores globally (14,191 in America) (2014).

The five forces examines the dynamics within an industry. Understanding the competitive forces, and their underlying causes, reveals the roots of an industry’s current profitability while providing a framework for anticipating and influencing competition and profitability over time. Understanding the structure of its industry is also essential to effective strategic positioning.

The market capital of Starbucks is 90.02 billion whereas Dunkin as market capital of 4.47 billion.So we

As at 2013, there were 10,858 Dunkin' Donuts retail locations, including 7,677 in the United States and 3,181 in 33 different countries. Most of Dunkin' Donuts are operating by franchisees and it is a very successful business model that generates much of its revenues. It is continuing to grow more franchisees in the United States and international market. In July 2013, Dunkin' Donuts

Having more than two hundred seventy three company owned stores, Caribou Coffee is the second largest company- operated premium coffeehouse and retailer in the United States. Although it’s one of the largest coffeehouses it still has to compete with not only national coffeehouses like Starbucks but local ones as well.

Starbucks Corporation is an American global coffee company and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 20,366 stores in 61 countries, including 13,123 in the United States, 1,299 in Canada, 977 in Japan, 793 in the United Kingdom, 732 in China, 473 in South Korea, 363 in Mexico, 282 in Taiwan, 204 in the Philippines, and 164 in Thailand.

Starbucks faces competition from variety of small-scale specialty coffee chains, such as Caribou Coffee, Peet’s Coffee and Tea, Dunkin Donuts, and thousands of independent specialty coffee shops. Each of them applies different strategies to differentiate itself from Starbucks; some of them deliver highly personalized service.

Starbucks is undoubtedly dominating the coffee industry, however that does not exclude the entry of new rivals. For example, McDonald’s, Burger

The Starbucks Company is a purveyor of gourmet coffee that was founded in 1971 at Seattle’s Pike Place Market (Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information). At that time Starbucks was a single storefront that offered premium, fresh roasted whole bean coffees. Since opening that single store Starbucks has grown to an international presence with branding that is recognizable worldwide. In addition, Starbucks has increased their product line beyond hot and cold coffee beverages to include hot and cold teas, packaged whole bean and ground coffees, high quality, fresh foods and coffee making equipment and supplies. Starbucks operates a total of 19,767 company operated and licensed stores and operates in 62 countries. In addition to the Starbucks’ brand the company also owns and operates other well-known brands such as Teavana and Seattle’s Best Coffee. (Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://news.starbucks.com/uploads/documents/Starbucks_Fiscal_2013_Annual_Report_-_FINAL.PDF)

Many coffee companies are currently in the market, making competition fierce. Although Starbucks has a strong reputation in North America, direct and indirect competitors still pose a threat. To establish market niche, competitors use location,