2008 Woodie Awards
Starbucks No Longer Strictly American
Jessica Ercolino
Issue date: 5/3/06 Section: Features
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If you build it, they will come…A Starbucks, that is.
According to its February 2006 company profile and fact sheet, Starbuck cafés are located in all 50 states, with more than 5,000 company-operated coffeehouses and more than 2,600 licensed locations. Starbucks can also be found in 36 countries outside the United States, including countries as far as South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.
With the abundance of this high-end coffee retailer, it's apparent that Starbucks has grown from its original Seattle coffeehouse to one of the biggest names in corporate America, making more than $6.4 billion in revenue per year. Across the world, customers line up at the bar to order their daily beverages, significantly pricier than those found elsewhere. Millions can be found toting a Starbucks coffee cup, if not for coffee, for style.
Wwhat is it about Starbucks that made it a phenomenon?
"Starbucks offers a different cultural experience," said Dr. Rajiv Kashyap, an associate professor of marketing at William Paterson University. "Its success is driven by its ability to provide a safe haven, an escape and an interlude to a society that has become schizophrenic in its attempt to balance work and leisure."
According to the Starbucks company profile available on the company's Web site, when chairman Howard Schultz purchased the company in 1987, it was merely a local coffee bean retailer. After a business trip to Italy, Schultz discovered an opportunity to expand his company and adopt Europe's "coffee culture."
In addition to the seemingly endless choice of beverages, patrons are offered a variety of baked goods, bottled beverages and assorted merchandise.
With tons of companies do that. What's the big deal?
Competing with companies such as Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds in coffee retail may not actually be a competition. Each company differs in the priority assigned to convenience, cost and experience. It is the experience that one will ultimately encounter at Starbucks that has parented it success.
According to its February 2006 company profile and fact sheet, Starbuck cafés are located in all 50 states, with more than 5,000 company-operated coffeehouses and more than 2,600 licensed locations. Starbucks can also be found in 36 countries outside the United States, including countries as far as South Korea, Singapore and Thailand.
With the abundance of this high-end coffee retailer, it's apparent that Starbucks has grown from its original Seattle coffeehouse to one of the biggest names in corporate America, making more than $6.4 billion in revenue per year. Across the world, customers line up at the bar to order their daily beverages, significantly pricier than those found elsewhere. Millions can be found toting a Starbucks coffee cup, if not for coffee, for style.
Wwhat is it about Starbucks that made it a phenomenon?
"Starbucks offers a different cultural experience," said Dr. Rajiv Kashyap, an associate professor of marketing at William Paterson University. "Its success is driven by its ability to provide a safe haven, an escape and an interlude to a society that has become schizophrenic in its attempt to balance work and leisure."
According to the Starbucks company profile available on the company's Web site, when chairman Howard Schultz purchased the company in 1987, it was merely a local coffee bean retailer. After a business trip to Italy, Schultz discovered an opportunity to expand his company and adopt Europe's "coffee culture."
In addition to the seemingly endless choice of beverages, patrons are offered a variety of baked goods, bottled beverages and assorted merchandise.
With tons of companies do that. What's the big deal?
Competing with companies such as Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds in coffee retail may not actually be a competition. Each company differs in the priority assigned to convenience, cost and experience. It is the experience that one will ultimately encounter at Starbucks that has parented it success.
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