Much like the meteoric rise and fall of KrispyKreme doughnuts, Starbucks is finding its original charm is falling by the wayside with its customer base, with their 2007 stock performance showing they are in need of some major changes. With McDonalds and Dunkin Doughnuts gobbling up Starbuck's customers with new "premium coffees," Starbucks can no longer rest on its image nor does it look like its aggressive expansion of recent look feasible anymore. No doubt the state of the economy and fuel prices also are players in this, as their customer base may be cutting back on discretionary spending and reducing car trips.
Not a coffee drinker, but in most parts of the U.S. you can find a Starbucks literally every quarter mile, in most grocery stores and many other venues you wouldn't expect. I think it boils down to one major factor, market over saturation. Its one thing to have a Starbucks on every corner in Seattle or San Francisco, but on every corner in Rocklin? Seems a bit much even when times were good, but when the economy goes south, it even looks worse as demand softens.
No doubt Starbuck's expansion is at a close and the concept itself is in for a big change in the months to come. One positive perhaps is that the independent coffee shop will get some breathing space and perhaps quality over quantity will make a comeback.
Andrew Gumbel of the British paper The Independent, provides more detail of what is to come is his article titled, Starbucks wakes up and smells the coffee: After 15 years of dizzying expansion, the coffee giant founded by Howard Schultz finally appears to have run out of froth. Worth reading.
Not a coffee drinker, but in most parts of the U.S. you can find a Starbucks literally every quarter mile, in most grocery stores and many other venues you wouldn't expect. I think it boils down to one major factor, market over saturation. Its one thing to have a Starbucks on every corner in Seattle or San Francisco, but on every corner in Rocklin? Seems a bit much even when times were good, but when the economy goes south, it even looks worse as demand softens.
No doubt Starbuck's expansion is at a close and the concept itself is in for a big change in the months to come. One positive perhaps is that the independent coffee shop will get some breathing space and perhaps quality over quantity will make a comeback.
Cheers!
Sean