Starbucks Econ

Starbucks is one of the leaders in the coffee house industry. This is possible because Starbucks is the leading purchaser of coffee worldwide. Despite this, the coffee house market as a whole must be aware of possible future volatility in coffee bean production. According to Philip Ross at the International Business Times, Arabica beans, which are 75% of the coffee produced worldwide, are expected to fall by up to 25% in some regions of the world. This is in part to the rising temperatures that those regions are facing. This will affect world prices, and as a result corresponding demand for the same.

In responding to its financial crisis in 2008, Starbucks brought back Schultz as CEO and stabilized financial downturn by closing nearly 1,000 stores that were underperformed, reducing $580 million operating cost.

Thesis: While Starbucks has been an industry leader in the specialty coffee market, rapid overexpansion and current economic conditions have caused it to lose its market dominance. Is the company strong enough to recover?

Within the coffee industry Starbucks Corporations has grown from a small shop to a leading coffee distributor, proving to have financial strength and determination to continue growth. With the weakening economy the continued success of Starbucks

Economic conditions in the US and certain international markets could adversely affect Starbucks’ business and

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)

Since, Starbucks has rebounded and in the 3rd quarter of 2011 has reported record sales and net revenues (www.Starbucks.com). The downward turn of the economy was definitely an uncontrollable event that caused a threat to the company. However, it also provided an opportunity for the stakeholders to re-examine their corporate structure and mission which forced them to make changes for the betterment of the company by increasing the customer experience. I believe Mr. Schultz did an outstanding job of turning the company around during this time. Had he not made the changes that he did, Starbucks may have failed.

Starbucks is known for their Frappuccino’s; unfortunately they are on a downward spiral in sales due to competitors such as McDonalds. In 2008 Starbucks admits to its losses due to their competitors. “Company executives now freely admit that such thinking is largely to blame for the woes that led to Tuesday’s announcement that Starbucks will close 600 U.S. stores and eliminate thousands of jobs. The coffee giant’s missteps have come at a spectacularly bad time, hitting as the economic slump deepens and consumers are seeing their discretionary spending eaten up by rising gas prices and grocery bills (Linn).”

2. Starbucks enjoyed strong financial performance in 2011. The company did not explicitly attribute this, but with an 8% rise in same store sales it seems that either the consumer market bounced back, or Starbucks made changes that attracted more consumers. The company feels that it offered better products and a better experience at its stores. The company also credited operating efficiencies and tight control of spending for improved profits. In addition, the company continued its global expansion, which improved the top line, and used the economies of scale it generated as part of its cost control program.

Starbucks strategies have successfully made them one of the biggest names in the coffee market globally. Starbucks has been able to survive the high competitive market and to differentiate themselves from other coffee shops by producing high quality coffee. Also, Starbucks successfully create a huge numbers of loyal customers worldwide by providing great services and high quality products. Starbucks was able to survive 2008 financial crisis successfully. In 2008, Starbucks net income was -53% that means Starbucks was losing so much many yet, 2009 Starbucks was able to not only stop their losses but also to gain a profit of 24%. However, Starbucks should be worry from the possibility of another financial

Starbucks generates strong cash flows has solid liquidity. The company executes rigorous cost cutting initiatives to improve its bottom-line. However, throughout fiscal 2008, Starbucks continued to experience declining revenue, particularly in US operation. The decline is largely attributed to lower customer traffic.

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

Starbucks’ shares have grown more than 1500% over the past decade. Financially, it has been an oak tree in an ever changing economy with customers that have ever changing demands. However, there has been increased concern for the financial viability of the coffee shop a recently announced plan to close down over 600 stores that were said to be underperforming domestically. That means that more than 1,000 jobs will be eliminated. As scary as that is on the local front to top management, the executive staff feels that it is the only way to recover from it’s shocking $108.7M loss for the 2nd quarter this fiscal year.

In 2003, US was going through economic recession, many huge retailing companies were suffering losses and ended up bankrupt. However, in 2003, Starbucks had 31% increase in its profit and has made 23% increase in its sale during the first half of 2003.

Starbucks can be categorized as one of the biggest and famous coffee company in the world. In 1971, Starbucks start its first business in Seattle. Nowadays, it owns a large amount of retailer stores which is more than 17,000 stores in 30 different countries (Scribd, 2016). The main product sold in Starbucks is coffee. Starbucks aims to provide their customers with high quality whole bean coffee and best coffee experience. Furthermore, it is more focus on two level of customers which are high end and upper middle class customers (Slideshare, 2016). The goal of Starbucks is to become the most recognized and well-known brand in the world ( Personal, 2010).