The commodity that I have chosen to analyze, that I own, is Starbuck’s Coffee. The use value of Starbuck’s Coffee from a Marxian perspective is, the fact that it is coffee. 90% of people in the United States drink at least one cup of coffee a day and/or are addicted to caffeine. Coffee satisfies human needs and wants. Starbuck’s coffee shops are known world wide, and is no doubt the most popular coffee shop in the United States. Starbuck’s not only sells coffee in their coffee shops but they sell ground coffee, and Keurig Cups at grocery stores all over the country, so that you not only can stop in or through the drive-thru, but you can enjoy a cup of Starbuck’s coffee in the comfort of your own home. Whenever you see the “two-tailed mermaid” …show more content…
In 2015, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz committed the company to hiring at least 10,000 "at-risk" young people, as part of a multi-company initiative to hire at least 100,000 young workers from low-income families. Starbucks has also partnered with Arizona State University to offer employees a chance to earn a college degree, completely paid for. The expansion of the global middle class gives the company astounding growth prospects. Not only is it a company that does well by doing good, but it could be a life-changing investment over the next 20 years for investors who buy and hold.” (Hall, The Motley …show more content…
Starbuck’s is known as being a high end and over priced company. When you think of Starbuck’s coffee you think of middle to high end class customers. Starbuck’s coffee, or coffee in general is a great example of Bourdieu’s perspective on Cultural Capital this being said, because, Cultural Capital is “a collection of habits and tastes that can be used to acquire both economic and non-economic advantage only when those around us grant our habits and tastes symbolic importance.” (Longhofer and Winchester 128.) Coffee is caffeine, and as I mentioned earlier people are addicted to caffeine. People who are addicted to coffee, have to have coffee every single day, this is considered a habit. An article I found by Empire News states, “According to the study, the citizens of Salt Lake City consumed Starbucks coffee 99.99% more frequently than crack.” (Chip) The article also mentioned how women in Salt Lake City spend at least $1300 a month on Starbuck’s coffee. People are drinking Starbuck’s coffee because of the label, and because it simply tastes so
Wandering in Seattle, you can see a lot of people holding a cup in their hands. What are they all drinking? Coffee! The smell of coffee may represent one of the Seattle’s tempting scent. People in Seattle have a great fancy of coffee. It might because of the rainy days in Seattle, coffee might be seen as an element to enliven the dank life. Also, it might because people here are really relaxed. Coffee has already entered into the spirit of Seattle. Coffee shops scatter in every corner of Seattle. People always like to bring magazines, newspapers, and laptops there for reading, chatting, surfing the internet, and working. Enjoying the wonderful atmosphere in coffee shops after the busy work is a wonderful way for people to relax themselves. The coffee culture has promoted economic consumption level in Seattle. The annual coffee consumption in Seattle is huge, and Seattle is the origin of the world’s largest coffee shop chain, Starbucks. It was first opened in Seattle in 1971 with an invisible shop in the Pike Place. But nowadays, Starbuck owns more than 6000 branches all over the worl...
Drinking coffee has been a popular tradition for many years and will always remain a timeless convention. For coffee consumers, that first sip of caffeine in the morning is the highlight of their day, the boost they need to keep going, or the simple pleasure of enjoying a moment of peace. Coffee can be made with several different devices, comes in many different flavors, and can be enjoyed almost anywhere. Despite the various options offered by coffee companies, there is one thing that remains common among users – many are dependent on this addictive brew. Dependency is important for companies when it comes to their product because it produces consistent sales. Keurig Green Mountain not only produces coffee which is already a reliant product
Over the past few decades, Starbucks has become a household name. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Starbucks is one of most lucrative coffee chains in the world. As of 2015, the company has chains in 50 countries with more than 22,500 stores in operation (Starbucks Corporation, 2017). The 70 stores located in Australia are focal point stores, which focus/tailor to improving the marketing strategy, customer service, and testing of new products to differentiate the company from the competition. Coffee is their primary business, so obtaining high-quality coffee beans from the nations that produce this product is important. Not only does the company sell hot coffee beverages, but they also offer a variety of cold drinks. The menu consists
For my report, I observed the customers at a Starbucks in downtown St. Petersburg. Each time I visited this establishment, there were consistent factors as well as unique ones during each observation. The morning crowd of people was vastly different than the evening crowd. I did however see many parallels with the morning and lunch time crowd. Each time I visited, There seemed to be an upbeat and fast paced environment.
CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, originally had the idea that Starbucks would have the community/traditional feel in their stores, and still serve high-quality coffee (“Our Heritage” 1). Adding an Italian vibe to the coffee shops, keeping its traditional logo, which is based on a mythical creature, and advertising some of its products in a more “traditional” style accomplished the first goal. For an example, Starbucks recently created a commercial about their Refreshers, which was about cooling someone down in the summer time, with the scenery of Tuscany in the background. Serving high-quality coffee was obtained by ordering coffee beans from where they naturally grow and giving it a perfect roast to give to a customer. It was a marketing strategy that helped Starbucks grow and transform its commodity chain to support gathering more raw materials for a cheaper and more efficient way.
Gender Roles in the Business of Starbucks The observation discussed in this paper occurred at the Eastside Starbucks between a white man and white woman sitting on the same side of the table. Both were dressed in a professional manner wearing slacks and button-down shirts. The man had on a wedding band while the woman wore glasses.
Great quality products, customized, served in clean, convenient placed stores for everyday coffee, friendly and fast serving, everything in a pleasant atmosphere - these were just few factors that lead to the great success of Starbucks during the nineties. Their USP was a place where every American could escape from home or work, for a coffee drinking ritual; high quality coffee, according to each customer's taste, served in a special, intimate ambience. Their image was supposed to appeal to anyone, being based on the idea of community, "exploiting" the need of people to interact with each other, in a "third place", away from home or work.
To be financially viable, a business needs to have sufficient found to pay bills and have sustain profits over a long period of time.
The company’s founder and CEO, Howard Schultz, has been successful in creating Starbucks into something that we didn’t really know we needed until we had it. He has meticulously crafted a brand for the company that adds a psychological value to its offerings. Thereby, when you buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks, you buy an experience. The somewhat quiet, not-so-rushed atmosphere along with dimmed ambience and friendly staff found at Starbucks’ stores add a feel-good factor to your purchase. As a result, people are willing to pay a premium for coffee at Starbucks even if McDonald’s were running a promotion offering free coffee. The premium prices translate to superior margins for its investors.
Similarly, to other coffee shop, the drinks comes in Peet’s brand cups and customers can pick up the food in the display case near the counter. Specialty coffee, called
Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice opened its first store in April 1971 in the Pike Place Market in Seattle, by owners who had a passion for dark-roasted coffee that was popular in Europe, but hard to find in the U.S. (Harrison et al., 2005; Venkatraman & Nelson, 2008). The company’s mission was to provide Seattle with the best access to dark-roasted coffee, and sought to educated customers about the product. As a matter of customer education and acceptance of the product, Starbucks grew and expanded into the successful domestic market it is today. Much of this success can be attributed to a focus on the total customer experience and s...
Starbucks is currently the industry leader in specialty coffee. They purchased more high quality coffee beans than anyone else in the world and keep in good standings with the producers to ensure they get the best beans. Getting the best beans is only the first part, Starbucks also has a “closed loop system” that protects the beans from oxygen immediately after roasting to the time of packaging. They did this through their invention of a one-way valve which let the natural gasses escape but keeping oxygen out. This gave them the unique ability to ensure freshness and extended the shelf life to 26 weeks. Starbucks isn’t only about the coffee, it’s also about a place where people can escape to enjoy music, reflect, read, or just chat. It is a total coffee experience. The retail outlet has been responsible for much of Starbucks growth and has contributed substantially to their brand equity.
Starbucks began its retention plan by analyzing their employees’ needs. The analysis drew variables of importance, such as positive culture, employee development, and benefits. As a result of the analysis, Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, came up with a plan to start a long-term retention program in his company. Mr. Schultz made sure that “he made it a point to put himself at the top of a respect pyramid in which he would be sure to be kind to everyone in the company with whom he interacted, with them passing on the respectful treatment, right down to the pyramid’s base”(“How Starbucks retains its employees”). The company also set up an online portal for employee development. Starbucks also launched a program to help its employees to achieve a college education. This educational program sends employees to Arizona State’s online program, providing juniors with free tuition and sophomores with financial aid. As a result of this initiative, Forbes (2015) has named Starbucks as one of “America’s Best
In addition to being best-known supplier of the finest coffee and promising only the highest quality products, Starbucks emphasizes firm values, provides guidelines to enhance employee self-esteem. This is to ensure continued customer satisfaction. Moreover, diversity has become a priority to providing an inviting environment to all consumers. Starbucks continues to abide by a strict, slow growth policy in which they set out to dominate a market before moving on to expand, thus history has shown this strategy to be successful for Starbucks, making them one the fastest growing companies nationwide.
When I saw this discussion, I couldn’t help but think of Starbucks and the impact they’ve made throughout their 45 years of establishment. I worked with them for about 7 years and saw how unique they were from your everyday coffee and latte spots. A retail company with thousands of coffee shops in the US as well as in other countries, this particular retailer has been able to catch the eyes of all ages as well as locations throughout the world. For example, today college students utilize Starbucks locations to study rather than go to a nearby library. Starbucks is also known for its best coffee and espresso drinks (Latte or Frappuccino) and with one of its delicious espresso 's any student or just a person stopping in to enjoy its lounge area where there is free Wi-Fi is awesome! Starbucks lifecycle has made a 360 turn around and been revamped twice to accommodated the growing market. Customizing their brand to fit more in with everything and not just one thing. By doing this they’ve created multiple product lifecycles within their own lifecycle as a corporate company.