INTRODUCTION In this essay, I will select an organization that I am familiar with and identify and analyze one of the competitive tactics it uses to determine when and where their strategy should be implemented. I will then consider its internal and external environment using either the SWOT, 5 Forces, or PEST strategic management tools in the course. Finally, I will then develop a new idea for a competitive tactic that it should attempt. STARBUCKS In 1971, three former University of San Francisco students opened the first Starbucks coffeehouse in Seattle, Washington to simply sell freshly roasted coffee beans. The continued success over the course of the next twelve years, attracted current owner Howard Schultz. As Marketing Director, …show more content…
The Market Location Tactic is classified into two categories; offensive and defensive. The offensive market location maneuver that Starbucks has successfully executed is the Frontal Assault. The Frontal Assault is a military tactic that incites head-to-head combat. In the Strategy Formulation paper written by Dr. Rex C. Mitchell, says that in order for this tactic to be successful, the attacker must have, “superior resources and be willing to continue longer than the company attacked.” Starbucks’ volume competitors include McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts, but because of the high quality coffee, the cozy or remote office feel (depending on the neighborhood), and superior customer service, Starbucks is really in a league of their own. To fulfill their mission of bringing high-quality coffee to every corner of the world, Starbucks has blanketed neighborhoods all across the globe, yielding over 24,000 retail stores spanning 70 countries and a host of grocery stores that carry the …show more content…
To do this, they have created brand and customer loyalty, first by taking care of their 238,000 employees (or partners as they refer to them) by offering a wide array (or “Special Blend”) of employment benefits. Employees who work a minimum of 20 hours per week receive benefits ranging from tuition reimbursement for a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University (online), superior healthcare coverage, stock options, discounts and more. Like the partners, customers too receive a range of offerings, especially the loyals. Starbucks boasts of over 87,000 drink combinations to tailor to each customer; giving them a specialized drink experience. They have created a loyalty program where members’ purchases equate to points or stars which accumulate and in turn lead to free items, every year for your birthday you receive free items, and you can get free in-store refills. There are a host of other discounts that cater to their members individually by using past purchase algorithms and location sensitive push notifications through their app. These attentions to internal and external detail have positioned Starbucks to be the global retail coffee favorite making it difficult for other coffee retailers to compete and even more difficult for new companies to enter the
The company started its activity in 1971 as small coffee shop located in Seattle specialized in selling whole arabica coffee beans. After being taken over by Howard Schultz in 1982, following a rapid and impressive growth, by mid 2002 the company was the dominant specialty-coffee brand in North America, running about 4,500 stores, 400 international stores and 930 licenses.
The structure of Starbucks business communication is exceptional. Rather you are in their store buying a Caramel Frappuccino®, visiting their website or watching one of their advertisements on television; as the consumer, the message is loud and clear. Pick up any newspaper and you are likely to find an article about the coffee giant. Starbucks pledges a commitment to their over 172,000 partners (employees) and the community. “We realize our people are the cornerstone of our success, and we know that their ideas, commitment and connection to our customers are truly the essential elements in the Starbucks Experience” (Starbucks, 2008).
This strategic capitalises on weaknesses since will decrease the cost of coffee beans/beverages but also Starbucks operating cost which they regularly ship across the world to various stores. Starbucks can capitalise on this weakness to improve their brand options. It adds value in the inbound logistics activities, operations and procurements. Starbucks should consider this option since it will decrease their operating cost and therefore will reduce the prices on their menu. The attractiveness is the exact same as mentioned in option 1.
The first Starbucks was opened in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by three partnersEnglish teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and wrier Gordon Bowker. The three were inspired by Alfred Peet, whom they knew personally, to open their first store in Pike Place Market to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment.
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.
Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Ziv Siegl founded Starbucks in 1971. Their goal was to sell the finest quality whole beans and ground coffees (Starbucks timeline and history, 2004). In 1982, Starbucks had grown to five stores and started serving coffee to restaurants and espresso bars. Harold Schultz was employed as the director of retail operations and marketing. Harold Schultz convinced the founders of Starbucks to open a downtown Seattle coffee bar, which opened in 1984. With the success of Seattle coffee bar, Schultz left Starbucks to start his own company named Il Giornale. In 1987, Il Giornale acquired Starbucks retail operations for 4 million dollars. In addition, Il Giornale changed its name to Starbucks Corporation and opened locations in Chicago and Vancouver, B.C. (Starbucks timeline and history, 2004).
According to Investopedia website, “a technique that reduces risk by allocating investments among various financial instruments, industries and other categories is known as diversification. Diversification is the most important component of reaching long-term financial goals while minimizing risk” (“Investopedia”, 2011). “Fundamentally, this strategy is about creating new products with new product life cycles and making existing ones obsolete” (Olsen, n.d.). With diversification, Starbucks would be able to enter new markets with new products. By having a diversification strategy enforced, this will create a path for effective growth for the business. 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.
The story of Starbucks coffee history begins in Seattle in 1971 when the first Starbucks opened at Pike Place Market, which is Seattle's and the Nation's oldest Farmer's Market. At this time the company was a local coffee roasting facility. That remained their core business until 1982 when Howard Schulz joined the company. He was the new marketing executive and began right away to convince more and more local cafes, upscale restaurants, and hotels to buy Starbucks coffee. The turning point for the company and the beginning of coffee history should be one year later when Schulz traveled through Italy. He got inspired by the Italian coffee bar tradition to serve fresh brewed Espresso and Cappuccino. He convinced the Starbucks founders to give his idea a chance and in 1985 he opened the first coffee bar in Seattle, named Il Giornale. (Wilson)
Another Starbucks business- level strategy is focused differentiation strategy (Starbucks,n.d). According to Starbucks (n.d), “this strategy a concentrating on a narrow buyer segment and outcompeting rivals by offering niche members customized attributes that meet their tastes and requirements better than rivals ' products. Starbucks has implemented a reward program that gives back to frequent customers. The "My Starbucks Rewards" program allows customers to make purchases at their local Starbucks and receive points for every purchase made with the rewards
they use the weakness of the competitor company to for example, reliance on US market, reliance on beverage innovation, lover revenue and income per employee, lower returns on quality than peers and problems in some international operations. Starbucks now are working really well on their technology in order to succeed. They now have new thing in which you can order and pay to their customer is about meeting their needs of convenience and customization at any time. Over many competitors, Starbucks now represents the easiest and fastest technology application on the phones they can be received by their customers and store partners. According to starbucks.com, the mobile order and pay feature allows customer to choose the beverage and food items. Starbucks correlates the job order cost system, by customizing the beverages in its stores. The raw materials are coffee. The works in process is the part where the customer customizes their order. An example of this step is when a guest orders the “iced coffee with two pumps of caramel syrup with soy milk. The finished product is the completed drinks that the barista makes. The cost of goods sold is the sale of the drink to the customer. It is a customized drink so the customer is paying for the “cost assigned for each job or
Starbucks is a worldwide company, known for is delicious brews of coffee and seasonal varieties of tasty drinks for any occasion. Starbucks opened with two main goals, sharing great coffee with friends and to help make the world a little better. It originated in the historic Pike Place Market of Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker. The creation of Starbucks’ name came from the seafaring tradition of early coffee traders and the romance evoked from Moby Dick. At the time, this individual shop specialized in the towering quality of coffee over competitors and other brewing services enabling its growth to becoming the largest coffee chain in Washington with numerous locations. In the early 1980s, the current CEO Schultz saw an opportunity for growth in the niche market. After a trip to Italy he brought back the idea of a café style environment of leisure and social meetings to the United States we now see in Starbucks locations today. Schultz ultimately left Starbucks to open his own coffee shop, Il Giornale which turned out to be a tremendous success. Fast forward a year later, Schultz got wind that Starbucks was going to sell all their components of Starbucks including their stores and factories, he immediately acquired the funds to buy Starbucks and linked both operations. Within five years he was able to open more than 125 stores starting in New England, Boston, Chicago, and gradually entered California. He wanted Starbucks to be a franchise system based on the mission of telling the truth and emphasize the quality,
Involving technology with their market structure. Starbucks provide their dine-in customers with unlimited Wi-Fi connectivity. Customers feel comfortable in their environment and perhaps stick around a bit more to enjoy other comfort items and merchandize offered by the store. Starbucks Company have entered into business with technology gurus like Yahoo, Google and Apple. These three technological companies serve as a media outlet for the Starbucks brand. Apple has incorporated an application in their software where consumers may purchase coffee orders from their phones and pick up the product at the closest retail Starbucks store.
Starbucks recognizes its employees for much of its success. This is due mostly to maintenance of a great and proven work environment for all employees. The company does not have a formal organizational chart; sot employees are permitted by management to make decisions without a management referral. Moreover, management trust and stands behind the decision of the employees and it is this that allows for employees to thinks for themselves as a part of the business, so as to make them feel as a true asset and not as just another employee.