Starbucks is not satisfied to stay as they are. They would like to grow their business in order to service the same customers but in new ways. Right now, according to a New York Times Article on the subject, Starbucks has still three-quarters of its sales in coffee products (Strom, 1). The writer of the article explains how in order to get a bigger share of new markets; Starbucks is buying up companies that can expand their food and beverage markets. The strategy used is one to present current information, first on the website, and then to dive into the historical issues the company has had.
The article begins by writing about purchases that Starbucks has made in order to improve its business. Stephanie Strom from the New York Times writes, “In the last two years, Starbucks has spent $750 million acquiring three new businesses — Evolution Fresh juices, La Boulange Café and Bakery, and Teavana — as it tries to muscle in on prized grocery shelves and compete in territory now dominated by the likes of Panera Bread and Chipotle” (Strom, 1). From this quotation, and the use of the verb muscle, it is clear that this is not going to be welcome competition with the competitors. This means that Starbucks has a difficult task in front of it as a company if it wishes to be successful and not waste money in its growth as a company.
Implicit in the article is that Starbucks is a big corporation that is trying to make more money. This maybe, is not something that some people who order Starbucks want to know about the company. The coffee shop chain is doing more than just buying new companies. It must change its entire image in order to remind people that after their morning coffee there are still reasons to visit a Starbucks. Part of this project involves the employees and their making sure customers are maximizing their time at Starbucks. One effort like this is to have one employee at each store who works the pastry case, making sure that all of the baked goods from La Boulange’s is warm and served to be eaten in the way that it is intended to.
These changes are challenging because Starbucks is such a big company. The writer from the New York Times writes, “The sheer logistics of the new food business would be a challenge to any company” (Strom, 2). But for Starbucks, because of their size, this problem is on a much bigger scale. This means training hundreds of people in new jobs across all of the country.
It is not a new problem for Starbucks, convincing their customers to not just drink coffee there but to stay for their food. According to the writer, it is a problem that they have been trying to solve for 20 years. The fact that they are still trying to solve it proves this.
Overall, the article seems to be pro-Starbucks. It presents their struggles, but since it is also presenting the problems that they have, this makes a regular reader feel that they are siding with Starbucks. It is almost as if Starbucks is presented as an underdog that is fighting to have their dream of more customers buying food come true. Since the boss of the company feels surprised to be at the level of being able to buy a$70 million plant, it emphasizes that Starbucks used to be small.
Works Cited:
Strom, Stephanie. "Starbucks Aims to Move Beyond Beans." The New York Times. The New York Times, 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 7 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/business/a-juice-and-croissant-with-that-starbucks-latte.html?smid=pl-share>.
