Starbucks Case Study

Founded in 1985, Starbucks is one of the largest coffeehouse companies in the world, with over 16,000 stores in 50 countries (Starbucks Annual Report, 2009, p. 1). Starbucks sells high-quality

The first Starbucks opened in 1971, in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. The name, inspired by Moby Dick. Howard Schultz (Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer) had first walked into a Starbucks store. “He had a vision to bring the Italian coffeehouse tradition back to the United States. A place for conversation and a sense of community.” A third place between work and home. From the beginning, Starbucks set out to be a different kind of company. One that not only celebrated coffee and the rich tradition, but that also brought a feeling of connection. ("Company Information | Starbucks Coffee

Starbucks started by just making and selling coffee and coffee making equipment but now they sell everything from thermoses to delicious frappachinos. They currently have over 22,000 stores around the world. They’ve recently opened stores in panama Colombia, Brunei, India, Costa Rica, Monaco and Norway. The company is a publicly traded company on the stock market. Starbucks specializes in food service and product supplies.

1. In the beginning, how was Starbucks different from other coffee options for coffee drinkers in the United States? What activities and assets did Starbucks leverage to differentiate itself from competitors?

Today, Starbucks coffee an American global coffee company has 21,160 stores in 63 countries. Coffee shop that scored top rating for customer satisfaction in 2008 American customer satisfaction index. With its practices, Starbucks take advantage in the five stages in consumer purchase decision making process. Next, Starbucks’ marketing strategy

The original idea for the Starbucks format came from the 1980´s when the company´s director if marketing, Howard Schultz, came back from a trip to Italy enchanted with the Italian coffeehouse experience, the idea was to sell the company´s own premium roasted coffee and freshly brewed espresso-style coffee beverages, along with a variety of pastries, coffee accessories, teas, and other products in a tastefully designed coffeehouse setting. The focus was to sell a “third place experience”.

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.

The context change in form that Starbucks found itself competing with smaller chains that resembled its former pre-expansion model with competitors focusing in creating symbolic-expressive value and fast food restaurants that had started to offer specialty coffee with more aggressive advertisement at a lower cost. The competitive context changed for Starbucks because it’s focus in mass distribution channels and its retail footprint strategy stated its product within a standard performance product value; this affected the value perception of the product.

Starbucks is globally known for their high-quality products and exceptional customer service while providing a unique, “Starbucks experience” where customers

The objective of this case study is to analyze why Starbucks was not meeting expectations in terms of customer satisfaction thereby losing customer loyalty. Whether or not to invest millions of dollars ($ 40 million) in each store to enhance the labor. How will it impact the sales and profitability if invested? Product mix and marketing approach will also be recommended in this paper.

Starbucks dates back from 1971 and is based in Seattle, Washington. The company was founded by Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegl and it

Starbuck’s strategy focused on three components; high-quality coffee, intimate service, and ambient atmosphere. Starbucks worked closely with growers in Africa, South and Central America, and Asia-Pacific regions to insure the quality of its product. Starbucks called all employees' "partners" and worked hard to train them with the skills necessary to best serve the customer. The atmosphere at Starbucks was crafted after the European-style espresso bar. The company goal was to create ambience through the Starbucks "experience" and by making the area comfortable, yet upscale.

The Starbucks story began in 1971 in Washington when it opened its first store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. The company is named after the first mate in Moby Dick. Their logo is inspired by the sea. The lady that is the Starbucks logo is actually not an ordinary lady, it is a twin-tailed siren from Greek mythology. Back then, they were retailers of whole bean and ground coffee. As well as tea and spices. In 1981 Howard Schultz, the chief executive officer and chairman of Starbucks today, had his first cup of Starbucks coffee and was speechless. A year later he started working there. In 1983 Schultz went to Italy and was fascinated with the coffee bars there and just the experience. His main vision was to eventually bring the Italian coffeehouse legacy back to the United States. He envisioned a place where people could go for conversation and a sense of community. A

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.

The case happened back in the 90’s where a lot of coffee shop is being operated in the business industry; one of this is the Starbucks a very well-known coffee shop nowadays. The Starbucks coffee maintained its clients or customers due of the new technique in marketing mix and to evaluate the kind of coffee and tea they were offered by the customers. The management also offered a promotional campaign by the use of advertisement in different media such as on television, radio, and printed media to remember the name of Starbucks. And now the said store or coffee shop has been created his own name here in the Philippines. (Source: Sunday Inquirer