Starbucks Corporation was formed in 1971 and is the largest coffee company in the world. Currently, Starbucks has 20,891 stores in 62 different countries. Initially, Starbucks only sold roasted whole bean coffee, however after opening new stores and experimenting with espresso and high end coffee drinks they rapidly continued adding to their menu. At this time, Starbucks menu includes coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, tea, pastries, sandwiches, etc. Starbucks expanded quickly from around 1995 to 2005, “…Starbucks added stores in the United States at an annual rate of 27%” (Jannarone, J., 2010). Unfortunately, Starbucks took a hit during the economic crisis of 2008 and they had no other option, but to take the necessary steps to move forward during the market failure. So, how was the law of supply and demand affected during this initial rapid growth, then during the weakening of sales in the economic crisis, and now during their re-growth? The law of demand states that if all factors remain equal, the higher priced goods will be in less demand. When consumers buy a higher priced good, they will usually purchase a smaller quantity, because as the price goes up then the opportunity cost of buying the good will also increase. The law of demand is a downward facing slope; therefore there is a negative relationship between the price and the quantity demanded. The law of supply will display the amount that will be sold at a certain price and opposite of the law of demand, the law of supply is upward sloping (Samuelson & Marks, 2011). To be able to answer the above questions their needs to be a review of the corporation.
“Starbucks purchases and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees and sells them along with fresh, rich-brewed, Italian style...
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...th the economic crisis, Starbucks did see a left shift in their demand curve and right shift in their supply curve leaving them excess supply. Yet, they were able to cut costs and still target their loyal consumers, so they could shift their demand curve right and continue to be a strong force in their oligopolistic market. Since, a shift in the supply curve happens when a quantity demanded or supplied changes then that means every time the demand curve shifted left for Starbucks then the supply curve shifted right. During the economic crisis Starbucks had excess supply this caused the product to be less attractive and consumers were purchasing less, because the price was high. After Starbucks took the necessary steps to become as efficient as possible in their market, they were able to continue growing and offer a larger variety of goods to their loyal consumers.
CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, originally had the idea that Starbucks would have the community/traditional feel in their stores, and still serve high-quality coffee (“Our Heritage” 1). Adding an Italian vibe to the coffee shops, keeping its traditional logo, which is based on a mythical creature, and advertising some of its products in a more “traditional” style accomplished the first goal. For an example, Starbucks recently created a commercial about their Refreshers, which was about cooling someone down in the summer time, with the scenery of Tuscany in the background. Serving high-quality coffee was obtained by ordering coffee beans from where they naturally grow and giving it a perfect roast to give to a customer. It was a marketing strategy that helped Starbucks grow and transform its commodity chain to support gathering more raw materials for a cheaper and more efficient way.
In regards to the corporation’s balance sheet, it is necessary to place an importance on liquidity ratios to demonstrate the company’s ability to pay its short term obligations such as accounts payable and notes that have a duration of less than one year. These commonly used liquidity ratios include the current ratio, quick ratio, and cash ratio. All three ratios are used to measure the liquidity of a company or business. The current ratio is used to indicate a business’s ability to meet maturing obligations. The quick ratio is used to indicate the company’s ability to pay off debt. Finally the cash ratio is used to measure the amount of capital as well short term counterparts a business has over its current liabilities.
The threats facing Starbucks include trademark infringements and increased competition from local cafes and specialization of other coffeehouse chains, and the saturation of the markets in developed economies, and supply disruptions. Furthermore, the increasing prices of its inputs such as dairy products and coffee beans pose a threat
The retail environment is filled with competition creating a need for each individual establishment to offer its customers more than just a product. The producers of the product have to provide an experience in addition to the product, an experience that creates loyal customers and encourages repeat visits. Stores, such as Starbucks, have capitalized on this idea and have expanded from 1 store in 1971 to over 11,784 locations as of July 2, 2006 (Starbucks Coffee, 2006). The coffee sold at Starbucks is perceived as a premium coffee and the price charged for this product is much greater than the price charged at other locations. The question is what warrants this price difference, and why are consumers willing to pay more for Starbucks coffee
When Starbucks started their target market were people who enjoyed coffee not just for the energy boost that they got from the caffeine, but people who enjoyed sitting down and drinking a well-prepared cup of coffee. Upon visiting Italy and falling in love with the coffee bars and the experience that they offered, Schultz envisioned a place between home and work where you could just sit and enjoy your coffee. Starbucks wanted to control their coffee from “raw green bean to the steaming cup” this meant that they had to talk with their farmers to make sure the quality was up to their standards. They
Many Americans suffered financially suffered from the 2008 recession, from the surge of gas prices to millions of Americans losing their jobs, and the foreclosure of homes. Many companies turned to the government for help to bail them out from going out of business and from further loses in revenue, while their expenses continued to pile up. Many Americans might wonder how a company like, Starbucks survived. Although still remaining a very successful company today, despite the adversities of an economic crises. Many individuals might look back and thank their higher power on how they survived such a difficult time. So, how did Starbucks survive?
Despite the fact that Krispy Kreme’s same-store sales are increasing every quarter, the company is not in control of the specialty foods industry. Starbucks Coffee, Krispy Kreme’s leading competitor, has been experiencing astonishing sales that surpass even Krisp...
When demand is elastic as with Coca Cola products price changes affect total revenue. When the price increases revenue decreases and when the price decreases revenue increases. For Coca Cola if they notice a decrease in revenue they would offer products at a discount to increase revenue. They do this quite often with sales such buy 2 20 oz. bottles for $3 instead of the normal $1.89 each price
When it comes to the supply, demand and price of coffee there are certain factors that can fluctuate these characters to rise or fall. Weather is one example that affects the consumption of coffee.
Starbucks has many business-level strategies, such as cost leadership strategy. Starbucks focused on increasing its profits and compete with other competitors (Starbucks,n.d). According to Starbucks (n.d), “a cost leadership business strategy focuses on gaining advantage by reducing its economic costs below all of its competitors. Although Starbucks targets product differentiation as their main business strategy, they have also implemented cost savings strategies in an effort to maximize profitability. An example of Starbucks cost saving strategy can be identified between 2007 and 2008 when their operational expenses increased by more than $125 million while sales for the same time period were beginning to dip. As outsourcing for distribution contributed to 70% of Starbucks operational expenses, they began targeting these outsourcing agreements for renegotiations in an effort to bring down costs.” Starbucks intended to reduce their
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,
Starbucks, a coffee bean sales company did not have much of a marketing plan in place at its inception. Based in Seattle Washington the company began to sell coffee beans to espresso bars and upscale restaurants back in 1982. It took 11 years to progress to that level of production, they originally were a local store vendor at Pike Place Market. The director of marketing brought back the espresso bar idea from his travels in Milan. (Company Profile, 2015) The Pacific Northwest was filled with working class men and women that were drawn to the coffeehouse tradition brought in from Italy.
Nithin Geereddy. 2013. Strategic Analysis of Starbucks Corporation. [ONLINE] Available at:http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/nithingeereddy/files/starbucks_case_analysis.pdf. [Accessed 18 April 14]
In 1971, three young entrepreneurs began the Starbucks Corporation in Seattle Washington. Their key goal was to sell whole coffee beans. Soon after, Starbucks began experiencing huge growth, opening five stores all of which had roasting facilities, sold coffee beans and room for local restaurants. In 1987, Howard Schultz bought Starbucks from its original owners for $4 million after expanding Starbucks by opening three coffee bars. These coffee bars were based on an idea that was originally proposed to the owner who recruited him into the corporation as manager of retail and marketing. Overall, Schultz strategy for Starbucks was to grow slow. Starbucks went on to suffer financial losses and overhead operating expenses rose as Starbucks continued its slow expansion process. Despite the initial financial troubles, Starbucks went on to expand to 870 stores by 1996. Sales increased 84%, which brought the corporation out of debt. With the growing success, Starbucks planned to open 2000 stores by year 2000.
With clear core values towards providing quality coffee, the best service, and atmosphere, Starbucks has enjoyed great success since it was founded 30 years ago. The company has being doing very well for last 11 years with 5% or more store sales increase, even with the rest economy still reeling from the post-9/11 recession. However recent research, conducted to Starbucks, have showed some concerns regarding company’s problem meeting customers’ expectations.