Starbucks

Star Bucks

Problem Statement

Howard Shultz and the senior management at Starbucks have to decide how to react to the opportunities that are being made available because of their rapid growth. The decision for a strategic growth plan has to be made in the near future. This will prove to be key for Starbucks reaching their long-term goal of becoming the most recognized and respected brand of coffee in the world.

Situation Analysis

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.

The Starbucks case doesn’t mention many weaknesses. The main one, however, is their supply chain operations. This hasn’t caused any problems yet but they mention that handling four business units is becoming challenging. They have yet to come up with a long-term solution for such possible problems.

As mention earlier Starbucks has many opportunities of which it can take advantage. These include a joint venture with McDonald’s, where the restaurant giant would supply its customers with Starbucks coffee. Another is the bottled Frappuccino product that Pepsi and Starbucks have created. This has had a very positive response in the test markets and posses to be a lucrative option. Starbucks could also look at the vertical integration possibility of producing its own beans. This could prove to be very successful if they can capture a significant amount of the production they could become a price setter in the coffee commodities. Also because small coffee retail outlets are so trendy it is possible for them to set ...

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...nal locations in the heaviest coffee drinking countries. This has to be done quickly as to get the jump on other that may also be considering this type of a move. At the same time they should be selling franchise right for the coffee carts. This will provide an increased cash flow as well. During all of this Starbucks should be looking at coffee producers who are in financial trouble or are looking at selling their farms. This has to be done discretely as not to cause unnecessary bad press. After they run a couple of these coffee producing farms for a few years they should be able to see how the whole operation works and determine its viability. Once it’s proven viable they should send out simultaneous offers to the biggest producers as to catch them and other coffee companies off guard. Starbucks also should be getting into the bottled Frappuccino as soon as possible. They should leave the introduction of the product up to Pepsi because of their past experience. They should leave their entry into the grocery store market until some of these other strategies are implemented. This will prove to be the best strategy for Starbucks being able to reach their long-term gaol.