As an amateur of coffee you would think that I would be delighted by having Starbucks at my disposal. Well lucky me, Starbucks is not present in France nor Italy and I am not missing it at all.
The strategy of Starbucks is a coffee shop on each corner of each town. This has resultated in many shops in many countries and at a certain stage it even was fashionble to have a coffee there. I have never been a real believer in the concept, which is limited (how cool can coffee be?) and poor quality (try an italian espresso) furthermore there hunger from growth and there strategy sounds like eating your own profits. Well the results have come in and it feels like a little victory for real coffee lovers.
Starbucks has lost 40% of it profits, came last in a coffee taste survey and surprise surprise the rapid growth has come to bite them in the behind, with cannibalising sales. (Starbucks on the left is competiting with the one on the right). They now realise that they have become a franchise brand like McDonalds and Burger King (less burgers) and have lost their initial appeal.
Furthermore the concept has been rather simple to copy and many different style coffee houses have seen the light and they are doing fine. Their competitive edge is gone and they dont click anymore with their customers.
This is of course a huge problem for them and the new CEO will push hard for creative solutions and a transformation of the brand. But what I hope is that they start realizing that in order to get the customers you need a good product!
Let's drink to that !
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