Starbucks Coffee Case Study

With time the small industry of coffee has modernized into a multibillion dollar industry that surrounds the world. With the growth of the industry there has been many world wide changes. Over the past 30 years coffee shops have jumped to the front of the public culture. New coffee shops have changes the face of American cities along with British, German, Colombian, Kenyan and Indonesia towns to name few. (Coffee a comprehensive guide to the bean, the beverage, and the industry) Around the world coffee has become part of the daily culture and coffee shops have grown to accommodate the massive demand that people ask for. Without the growth of the industry there would be a shortage of the product and many would have to go without their beloved beverage. In the United States alone there has been a massive increase in the number of coffee shops. In 1980 the number of coffee shops was a year 2,000 and by 2008 there was an astonishing 27,715. (Coffee a comprehensive guide to the bean, the beverage, and the industry) This was an increase of over ten times in the short time. 11,000 of those stores, almost half, were Starbucks one of the biggest coffee brands in the worlds. The growth of Starbucks is due to the work of Howard Schultz a worker for the company before they became as massive as they are today. Starbucks started very small in Seattle, Washington in the mid 1970’s. Howard bought out the owners and then went on to turn the small company into a massive corporation. (Coffee a

When Starbucks first became a Public Traded Company in 1992, there were only 165 stores open at that time. The company set a goal for growing 125 stores per year and rapidly expanded until reaching 11,000 U.S. stores in 2008 (Starbucks website). When Starbucks first opened, it focused on the experiential. At its best, the coffee giant truly represented the ‘”third place” between home and work where a customer can chat with the barista, order a drink to his specification, then settle in for conversation, socializing, and relaxation (Wikipedia). People were not paying $3 per latte because it tasted that much better than Starbucks’ competitors. They were paying it because they could go into a Starbucks and get that European café feeling and then take the

Starbucks is dominant coffee brand in North America, which also is well-known worldwide. Established in 1971 as coffee shop oriented to a niche of coffee purists, in late 1980’s it turned to be a constantly growing chain of stores that sold whole-beans and premium-priced coffee to mostly affluent, well-educated customers. In years 1992-2002 company was showing at least 5% annual growth. And by 2002 Starbucks was serving already 20M customers in 5886 stores (both operated and licensed) around the globe, had $3.3 billion net revenues and was opening 3 new stores a day in average.

Since Starbucks entered the coffee retail business, the company has made many trade-off business decisions. The first major trade-off was made when Howard Schultz wanted to acquire present day Starbucks from three entrepreneurs Baldwin, Siegel and Bowker. Therefore, Schultz prior to the acquisition made the trade-off to open his own coffee bar in 1986 instead of staying at Starbucks as the manager of retail sales and marketing. A bold feat, Schultz was able to replicate success and was offered to buy Starbucks for $4 million. At the time of the acquisition, many investors, including the former Starbucks owners, would not expect that the American consumer would pay a premium for coffee products. Schultz, after calculating the opportunity cost, was convinced that Starbucks would become a large coffee chain not only in the United States but internationally too. Reflecting this approach, Schultz’s trade-off worked. Starbucks, according to our book has revenue exceeding $13 billion and nearly 200,000 employees. The company has also expanded to 40 countries with 17,000 stores (Hill et al., 2015).

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

2) Garthwiate, Craig; Busse, Meghan; Brown, Jennifer; Merkley, Greg “Starbucks: A Story of Growth” Harvard Business Publishing, July 2012.

There are a number of differences between the Starbucks of 1992 and the Starbucks of 2002.

When Howard Schultz launched Starbucks, its main targets were the competitors and the customers. Schultz’s brand aimed at gaining dominance in the coffee industry in addition creating a Italian coffee shop feel in the United States (Buchanan & Simmons, 2009). The strategy of Starbucks was based on new products, listening to customers wants and ensure future expansion (Buchanan & Simmons, 2009). In creating convenience for customers, Starbucks created stores almost on top of eachother. They hinged on the idea that, they did not want to lose out on a sale if a line was too long. This action, of placing stores in heavy populated areas, basing need on projected growth of an area caused some decline in sales during economic trouble with the economy. The 2007 recession, failure of subprime mortgages, increased competition from McDonald 's McCafe brand, and Dunkin Doughnuts all led to a decline in sales for Starbucks in the fourth quarter of 2007 (Buchanan & Simmons, 2009). To attempt to regain market share and recover after the

What factors accounted for the extraordinary success of Starbucks in the early 1990s? What was so compelling about the Starbucks value proposition?

In general the coffeehouse industry in the United States was experiencing an increase in coffee consumption per capita due to the “Starbucks effect”. At this time Starbucks was operating approximately 20,000 stores in the United States and was living a fast expansion strategy worldwide.

Starbucks is world’s leading coffee chain store with a strong vision and values. Today, they have more than 21000 stores in over 65 countries. Their product includes coffee, hot and cold beverages, pastries, sandwiches etc. Starbucks has been maintaining high quality product and customer services all over the world. They differentiated the company by introducing authentic Italian coffee culture to US market. However, in early 2008 they faced major challenges with the financial crisis in economic system which forced them to close many stores worldwide. Secondly, they faced challenges to deal with increased competition and cheaper rival hence, their earnings fell 28% to $109 million. In addition, the prices of the products are higher than their direct competitors. Also, they expanded their business at such level that they couldn’t focus on the brand image and quality of the products. They were losing core values of the company. At that time Howard Schultz, board chairman & founder of Starbucks had observed the urgency to transform the business immediately. He then returned as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and announced to close more than 600 stores in 2008. To manage the challenges and to give their customers distinct ‘Starbucks Experience’ Schultz took different approaches. Schultz pointed out ‘Seven goals’ or ‘Big moves’ to transform the business and revamp the leadership team. The transformation agenda was created with a strong vision of the company as well as these

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.

Over the past twenty five years, Starbucks has been leading the coffee revolution and turned a dying industry upside down by mainstreaming their stores and creating a public fascination. From the beginning of Starbucks stores through 2006, they have opened stores all over the U.S. and will be taking it overseas. Starbucks is leading the coffee revolution and has expanded their reach all over the world. With this much growth, it is easy for the company to lose their edge by forgetting the reasons they have become so large from the beginning. In this analysis, I am going to go over an economic assessment, marketing

1. Starbucks serves what many would consider a basic commodity-- coffee.  As a commodity, traditional management wisdom would dictate that vendor selection would be based upon price; the vendor with the lowest price typically earns the business. How did Howard Schwartz transform Starbucks from a shop that "specialized in selling whole arabica beans to a niche market of coffee purists" into an "upscale cultural phenomenon" (p. 2)?  Be certain to identify Starbucks ' 'service vision or concept ' and 'service strategy ' under Schwartz ' leadership.