Starbucks Going Global Fast
There are many topics that arise throughout the case with Starbucks Corporation. Starbucks Coffee is located worldwide and there are many different ways to look at this situation. The company offers a unique range of coffee, lattes, espressos, and café style drinks. The company intended to reach a specific target audience, but has ended up in many different markets and has been growing rapidly. Starbucks has greatly used the “youth appeal” strategy to gain entrance into new markets. However, such enthusiasm cannot be counted on indefinitely; other strategies are always in the works. Over time Starbucks has been able to acquire a solid brand reputation and has a world renowned company logo.
There have been some distinguished controllable and uncontrollable elements Starbucks has encountered when entering global markets. The strategies of any company’s goals are vital to its success. This is one area Starbucks has excelled in, just as McDonald’s has in recent years. Starbucks has paralleled its branding with the actions found at any Starbucks across the world. They have an excellent company vision, which they stick to, which in turn assists their brand image. Starbucks’ image has been achieved not only through this and their massive global entrance, but through their ability to provide honest quality service.
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.
There are a few risks facing the company. One of which Starbucks is already attacking and trying to overcome. The expansion of Starbucks is coinciding with one of the worst economic surges in history. It has become unaffordable for the average person to go to Starbucks for a coffee seeing that a coffee costs as much as a gallon of gas. If you drink one coffee a day for a week, that’s almost a tank of gas! This is why Starbucks is now offering a less expensive cup of coffee with a completely different label and all.
...ore. The weakness for Starbucks is only Colombian coffee will distort the brand name. The opportunities are that Colombia has a growing middle class. The threats are being an American company the store can be targeted for terrorism, or Colombians will prefer a Colombian company to an American one. The weakness and threats outweigh the strengths and opportunities.
In 2002, unexpected findings of a market research showed problems regarding customer satisfaction and brand meaning for Starbucks customers. The situation was unacceptable for a company whose overall objective is to build the most recognized and respected brand in the world. Starbucks was supposed to represent a new and different place where any man would relax and enjoy quality time, alone or with others. But the market research showed that in the mind of the consumers, Starbucks brand is viewed as corporative, trying to expand endlessly and looking to make lots of money. This huge gap between customers' perception and Starbucks' values and goals called for immediate action.
Shah, A. J., Hawk, T. F., & A, T. A. (2011). Starbucks' Global Quest in 2006: Is the Best Yet to Come. In A. A. Marcus, Management Strategy: Achieving Sustained Competitive Advantage (pp. c468-c495). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Social issues will always be a parto f major coporations however, Starbucks has shown through excellent leadership that they are ready to counter any attacks to their beliefs. They have mitigated the gun issue, the race issue, and signed the Fair Trade agreement. This stance on fair treatment and standing by their convictions has gotten Starbucks respect and new customers. Though many did not feel comfortable with the “Race Together” campaign, it was still a respected
...healthy environment, economy, or political state is left up to those who buy and distribute coffee. While the model that Starbucks follows to come by and sell their coffee may not be perfect it is at least a step in the right direction.
The Starbucks case doesn’t mention many weaknesses. The main one, however, is their supply chain operations. This hasn’t caused any problems yet but they mention that handling four business units is becoming challenging. They have yet to come up with a long-term solution for such possible problems.
Starbucks started in 1971 as a single coffeehouse in Seattle. Today, it's the world biggest espresso retailer, with more than 19,000 areas in more than 60 nations. The staff, known as “accomplices” inside the Starbucks and “baristas” to people in general, offers more than two some espresso consistently and are at the heart of what Starbucks calls "the Starbucks Experience." Competitors would have financial specialists trust that Starbucks is offering barely unrivalled espresso at a preposterously high cost. In any case, Starbucks may contend this is a biased perspective of its business (O. C. Ferrell, 2012).
Everything became very difficult for the company. At the time, their coffee prices were shown as extremely ridiculous and their sales began to decline. Other companies took this as their time to join the coffee business and gave Starbucks a run for it’s money. As for the people buying their products, bloggers began discriminating against how Starbucks handled some things in their stores, like wasting water while washing their equipment. Since publicity relates to a lot of the company’s success, this took an even bigger toll on Howard’s decision-making process as CEO.
Business was good, but it was not without its problems. There was the political upheaval in the Middle East, followed by further tension after then CEO Howard Schultz commented on growing anti-Semitism in the region. Their integrity came under fire when certain Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) accused them of purchasing coffee beans under questionable social and economic conditions. These situations, together with difficult economic times globally, meant that Starbucks was likely going to take a hit somewhere. Eventually, they shut down their Israeli operations altogether.
Founded in 1971 at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices, as it was originally called, has been “brewing-up” its famous blends in over 43 countries, including the United States. Now called Starbucks Coffee Company, business isn’t just about the coffee and tea anymore. Starbucks has its own line of bottled water, handcrafted beverages, fresh food, entertainment, merchandise and a Starbucks Card. The company has received numerous awards for their outstanding business practices. Fortune Magazine has ranked them as one of “The Best 100 Companies to Work For” in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2008 (Starbucks, 2008). The Starbucks Experience provides consumers and the general public a direct line a of business communication. From friendly baristas to press releases from CEO Howard Schultz, Starbucks keeps its “partners” informed.
I will briefly summarize and examine issues facing Starbucks. Starting from there I will pick the most important issue and study it from different positions. In the end of my I will try to suggest what steps should be made to keep the company in continuing its quest to become one of the most recognized and respected brands in the world.
As with any company considering new products in new markets, there are risks associated with it, and Starbucks would need to be prepared to respond accordingly. With diversification, Starbucks will have the opportunity to increase its growth. Also, this strategy will permit the company to add related or unrelated products to its existing business. This will be the opportunity the company needs in order to expand its products, by offering new products to its customers. If Starbucks is considering diversifying, it’s essential to adopt a strategy that is fitting for the company....
The strategic vision that Howard Schultz had for Starbucks was "Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow". This s...
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.
Starbucks has identified high value opportunity in China, India, Brazil and Japan. The large expansion opportunity of twelve billion in China alone is enough to drive Starbucks to expand globally. The organization has planned to double its footprint to 3000 stores in China by 2019 ("Starbucks Details Five-Year Plan to Accelerate Profitable Growth", 2014). Starbucks realizes that eventually there will be a diminishing return on their existing market within the US due to market maturity and there are only two ways to expand through diversification in their offerings and entering new markets. Given the international opportunity for growth and expansive tea market in Asia, the company will enjoy the benefits of the growth opportunity. Management’s decision to continue to grow globally is a driving force that has yielded