Assessment of the Attractiveness of the Swedish, Bulgarian and Nigerian Markets for Starbucks
Starbucks already has an existing connection to Sweden: CEO Howard Schultz previously worked with Hammarplast, “a Swedish housewares company which marketed coffee makers” (Subhadra and Dutta, 2003). It was whilst working for this company that Schultz first became aware of Starbucks, who was a major customer of Hammarplast at the time. A relationship like this could be useful for marketing and branding purposes if Starbucks decided to enter the Swedish market. Sweden is also quite an affluent country, and long term member of the EU, making it likely that the residents will have disposable income to spend on coffees and other beverages. However, as the country has been attractive to foreign investment for a long period of time, the coffee market may be highly competitive, with existing companies having significant levels of market power.
Indeed, Durevall (2007) investigated whether the major multinational coffee exporters were exploiting their market power in national coffee markets by limiting the demand for imports of coffee beans by keeping consumer prices too high to enable mass market penetration. Durevall found that the Swedish market structure was “typical of many consumer markets for coffee, with four very large roasting companies, two of which are multinationals, plus many small ones.” (Durevall, 2007) As a result of this study, Durevall found that there was evidence of some market power in the short run, but none in the long run. This implies that better management of operations and branding could give a company long term market power.
The market for coffee and other beverages is also increasing in Sweden, as reported by Dairy Industries International (2001). This study measured the consumption of milk, and found that it had risen significantly over the previous few years. The study found that this was largely driven by consumption of coffee drinks, such as latte and cappuccino, and meant that milk drunk with coffee stood at 140 million litres per year in 2001, which is 10% of Sweden’s national milk consumption.
Bulgaria is considered for entry largely because of the strong economic growth it has experienced as a result of entry into the EU, with strong growth being experienced in the years prior to entry (Emerging Europe Monitor, 2007). However, the coffee market in Bulgaria has been developing long before this, with Business Eastern Europe (1999) reporting on the Israeli company Elite’s launch of coffee into the Croatian market in November 1999, following successful operations in other Eastern European countries including Bulgaria.
The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe , and the Economist as well as many other media outlets of record were all in consensus when they declared the onset of coffee crisis in October 2001; farmgate prices had sharply dropped reaching a thirty-year low of $0.39 per pound in This price was below the cost of coffee production at the time, listed at USD 0.60 per pound.(Economist 2001) Price declines are not such an uncommon occurrence, but what is more troubling is that the cash market for coffee suffers from high price volatility. For a more detailed look please see Appendix 1: Cash Price Variation. Coffee producers , who are mainly located in developing countries , are highly vulnerable to price risk in the cash market , yet their profits in relation to their risk exposure has been steadily declining. In a 2001 study conducted by the European Fair Trade Association (EFTA)- an organization that promotes the sale of products that ensure price security for marginalized commodity producers- the general finding was a declining share of trade revenues from coffee remained in the coffee producing countries. Although the international coffee market has grown from $30 billion annually in the 1980s to $55 billion in 2001, in aggregate coffee producers have seen their share drop from $10 billion to $7 billion in 2001 (Renkema 59).
Ponte, Stefano. 2002. “The `Latte Revolution'? Regulation, Markets and Consumption In the Global Coffee Chain.” World Development. 30(7):1099-1122.
The growing, processing, dispersing, and marketing of coffee in businesses are global enterprises. These enterprises affect many cultures, social groups, and organizations within those cultures in society. These processes take place many thousands of miles away from me or other coffee drinkers. Many aspects in my life are now situated within globalized trade and communications. Sociologists find that studying these global transactions is very important.
In recent years there was a time that Starbucks saw the opportunity to go global and jumped on it. As far as this article goes, when looking at company weaknesses there is nothing that is of a serious concern for the business. If you look at Starbucks today you would see a much different perspective. The corporation started off using a benchmarking strategy trying to mimic what was done within other leading competitors. (Now Starbucks is the benchmark!) The company continues to work towards its long-term goal of becoming the most recognized and respected brand of coffee in the world. In one article I read, a spokesperson from Starbucks said they hoped to be the Q-Tip of the coffee business.
Starbucks is one of the most recognizable and successful coffee brands in the world. Starbucks believes in serving the best coffee possible. Starbucks’ international market that was expanded into China in 2002, still has only a tiny part of the Chinese beverage market (Harrison et al., 2005). The company President, Charles Shultz is ascertaining the possibility of establishing new coffee houses in China.
In the United States, coffee is the second largest import (Roosevelt, 2004). Furthermore, the United States, consumes one-fifth of all the worlds¡¦ coffee (Global Exchange, 2004). The present industry is expanding. It is estimated that North America¡¦s sector will reach saturation levels within 5 year (Datamonitor. n.d.). According to National Coffee Association (NCA), 8 out of 10 Americans consume coffee. In addition, it is estimated that half of the American population drinks coffee daily. The international market remains highly competitive. It is estimated that 3,300 cups of coffee are consumed every second of the day worldwide (Ecomall, n.d.). The latest trends included dual drinkers, an increase in senior citizens...
Since 1971, when the coffee industry had started to grow and the range of products and rivalry from other businesses were small; Starbucks was only then competing with brands that hadn’t really made much money over a few years, and Starbucks was topping them all with the amount of profit and revenue the business was gaining however due to the industry growing as days go on, Starbucks now has significant competitors that have stores all over the world that is affecting their exposure and how they sell their products indefinitely. One of these significant competitors is McDonald's, with over 36,899 restaurants, employing 375,000 people and serving 68 million customers a day.(En.wikipedia.org, 2016) They once originated
Koehn, N.F., Besharov, M.A., & Miller, K. (2008). Starbucks Coffee Company in the 21st Century. [Case study]. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.
The main function of the company is its transaction activities which develop supply chain systems through which bind producer cooperatives in different countries. Besides that, the company with their strategies in the supply chain is trying to transform relations of production and trade. The trend of Starbucks’ marketing is murky for the distinction between its own system of supply chain and that of Fair Trade is the potential to ‘water down’ enablement results obtained at production places where they deviate from consumer purchases to corporate supply chains (Macdonald, 2007).
When starbucks enter the Australian market in 2000, It was successful. Starbucks targeted the capital cities before going into regional centers. The reason is simple, as demand for pricey coffee is higher in the capital cities, and during that time less competition are expected. Starbucks became the leading and competitive company in the coffee chains globally. By 2007, Starbucks has opened more than 84 company-operated stores across the country. It was until mid 2008, that Starbucks realise its peak of success has ended in the Australian market.
This paper will provide an argument for diversification to be presented to board of directors for Starbucks. A strategy for diversification indicating the products and industries for diversification and how synergies may be gained will be provided. The identification and the discussion of the foreign market Starbucks should enter will be presented, along with the strategy it should use to enter the market. Challenges Starbucks may face in the foreign market will be discussed, as well how it might respond strategically to minimize the impact of these challenges.
Starbucks, a coffee bean sales company did not have much of a marketing plan in place at its inception. Based in Seattle Washington the company began to sell coffee beans to espresso bars and upscale restaurants back in 1982. It took 11 years to progress to that level of production, they originally were a local store vendor at Pike Place Market. The director of marketing brought back the espresso bar idea from his travels in Milan. (Company Profile, 2015) The Pacific Northwest was filled with working class men and women that were drawn to the coffeehouse tradition brought in from Italy.
Coffee is a worldwide cash crop of which demand has exponentially increased over the years. “Coffee is (after oil) the world’s second most important traded commodity” (Cleaver 61). Competing coffee brewing companies wage war on offering the freshest, best tasting coffee the market has to offer. With such stiff competition there must be enough coffee beans deemed to be good enough in quality to supply the increasing demand. Starbucks can be considered one of today’s top competitors if not thee top coffee manufacturer presently in business. This successful company has had a huge impact on the coffee industry as well as the world. They have gone through great length to provide consumers with an excellent product as well as create a legacy that shows how to best go about running a massive corporation while keeping the environment clean and healthy.
The coffee bean supplier market is made up of mostly a few large suppliers, which would suggest suppliers have significant bargaining power. This power is limited by the sheer size of Starbucks which continues to grow, which mitigates supplier power as achieving such a large contract as with Starbucks is very lucrative. Furthermore, Starbucks has engaged in backward vertical integration, purchasing coffee farms in China and Costa Rica, to ensure their supply of high quality beans at a reasonable price, regardless of the increasing demand of high quality beans and the limited suppliers.