Starbuck's one of the Most Recognized Coffee Chains in the United States

Starbuck’s is probably one of the most recognized coffee chains in the United States and from the store’s opening through the year 2006, they were continuously able to achieve market domination over all of their competitors. “New stores were being opened at the rate of roughly 32 per week in 2005, and management expected to have 15,000 Starbuck’s stores open worldwide going into 2006.” (Shah, Hawk, & Thompson, 2012) With the business growing faster than what was projected or even expected, Starbuck’s began to position itself into other markets such as music, internet services and they also expanded their brand internationally. By 2007 it seems there was a Starbuck’s on every corner of every neighborhood in America but soon the economy would take a turn for the worse and American’s could no longer afford to pay $5 for a cup of coffee. By 2008, many of the Starbuck’s stores were underperforming and profits began to decline which resulted in the trend of some Starbuck’s doors being closed. Currently, Starbuck’s is doing well and has partially recovered from its decline but now we must look at the company’s future. Strategically, Starbuck’s will need to decide what new markets to enter and what new ventures to invest in to ultimately add more value to their products which results in the highly sought after competitive advantage over their competitors. A SWOT analysis can be conducted to help the managers of Starbucks develop new goals and objectives for the future of the company.

Several internal strengths can be identified for Starbucks because they have performed so well in the past and have successfully maintained a competitive advantage over other companies but we will focus on the most vital strengths that can be used to help move the company into a brighter future. The most important strength at the core of this company is the Starbucks brand. Starbuck’s has been operating for a very long time and have built a good reputation amongst their followers by providing high quality coffee products and an outstanding customer experience in their stores. As a result of the value that has been added to their brand over the years, a great deal of their customers has remained loyal to Starbuck’s and it shows when you take a look at the new Starbuck’s loyalty rewards program. “By most standards, Starbucks (SBUX)‘s loyalty rewards program is successful. As of October 2012, some 4.5 million people had signed up to earn points for shopping at Starbucks, and the company says it expects to double that by October 2013.” (Berfield, 2013)

Another strength identified is Starbuck’s broad geographic existence. According

to the Starbuck’s company profile (located on their website), as of July 1, 2012 the company has 17,651 stores operating in 60 different countries. Licensing partnerships with other companies allows Starbuck’s to expand their presence even further which