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Starbucks: How Growth Destroyed Brand Value

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Bruce Jan 31, 2009 7:36 AM GMT To Basil who posted on this thread: Why is it no matter what has happened in this country in the last 8 years, no matter who has tripped on a curb or lost their reading glasses, or what business has misread the market, IT IS ALWAYS GEORGE BUSH'S FAULT?????
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Obi Jan 11, 2009 10:08 AM GMT Starbucks is in every mall and grocery store and still everywhere I need one. I would call that a success. It is hard to find a better coffee period. it is a win win for the growers, corporate and local community. the larger problem is they don't provide donuts or mcmuffins.
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Mike W Jan 11, 2009 1:23 AM GMT Starbucks has never figured out what they are about. It's the social experience in the nice cozy area with stuffed chairs and couches. Now, they have gone away from that. They have lost their point of difference.
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Basil Akers Jan 6, 2009 11:56 PM GMT This is one of the dumbest analysis that I have ever read. Like Toyota, Starbucks did not extrapolate the risk related to variou economy scenarios. We had an idiot for President and anyone with any sense would have known the economy would be destroyed. Had Starbucks negotiated a nationwide corporate plan, for Wi-Fi, they would not have suffered as badly. Add products but don't gouge the customer. Is Southwest Airlines suffering? NO!
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Monica Gagnier Dec 23, 2008 12:25 AM GMT I just finished driving across country and staying with many folks who had lost the code to their security-encrypted wireless network. I would have been lost without the Starbucks in Topeka, Kans., and in Rio Rancho, N.M. In Topeka, Starbucks offers FREE wireless. You have to buy a day pass from AT&T or T-Mobile at both Starbucks I visited in Rio Rancho, but $4.99 was a good investment. Starbucks may not be hip anymore, but it's a godsend for the business traveler.
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bdbd Dec 19, 2008 10:51 PM GMT I think Starbucks also compromised and damaged its brand by allow its logo to be used in places where the product quality could not be controlled and would not be expected to match the quality of coffee served in a Starbucks shop. Hotel banquet and meeting buffets, airlines, etc -- such places have a reputation for serving lousy coffee because they are not really setting that can reliably provide decent coffee. By letting such outlets brand their product with the Starbucks logo, Starbucks ensured that more and more people would receive mediocre items that could be associated with Starbucks (and not as much with the hotel or airline that served the coffee).
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bobbie goheen Dec 11, 2008 8:33 PM GMT Perspective is what is needed on this discussion. What are the total number of Starbucks stores in the U.S? 600 is a small adjustment on over 11,434 stores in the US. Does this account for bad marketing or expansion strategy....hard to tell and easy to berate if you are on the sidelines of business development instead of on the field trying to make it happen.
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Gary Dec 11, 2008 9:14 AM GMT Starbucks coffee has been a place where you can get a refreshing cup of coffee. It is more of a place where you can go in and chill out, meet up with friends etc. And while you chat up, grab a something to drink. It is just a sophisticated bar with a soft music. If the place is too crowded, it defeats the purpose.
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Steven Dec 11, 2008 4:15 AM GMT "Italian atmosphere?" Ha! The clink of porcelain on a granite counter, that's Italian. Cappucino after breakfast? Definitely not. Standing at the bar to save the additional cost of a table seat. Italian. Dumping a squirt bottle of caramel syrup into half a quart of lukewarm coffee-flavored milk? Uh, no. Never seen that in Italy.
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Paul Dec 11, 2008 12:28 AM GMT I'm with Jawbreaker. I was just at the Santa Monica store on 26th Street, the line was huge - for hours one Friday afternoon while I worked on my laptop. These are people who still have money to throw around, and don't mind a $4 latte. A large number were hanging out, others were grabbing-and-leaving. Just like the old days.Other neighborhoods, I suspect the penny-pinching is having its toll. But right, this was never raised when things - including the economy - were on the up and up.
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