Ust Us! Coffee Roasters Group Case Analysis

Just Us! Coffee Roasters Group Case Analysis

Just Us! captures a unique market segment by offering high quality products that are both socially and environmentally sustainable. Unfortunately, through the late 2000’s, Just Us!'s market share fell due to competitors capitalizing on the same growing trend of fair-trade goods. From 2008 - 2010, revenues for Just Us!’s coffee houses have decreased by $77,566. Growing popularity among competitors with similar value propositions to Just Us!’s suggests that without a decisive change in strategy, Just Us! will lose its competitive edge.

Just Us!’s most lucrative revenue stream stems from its sales of fair-trade and organic products to other vendors and customers for at-home use. At the same time, Just Us! values its image and uses its coffeehouses to showcase its brand to customers. Although the growth rate of Just Us!’s coffeehouses’ revenues have slowed going into 2011, these coffee shops remain a fundamental part of the company’s business. In order to maintain its place in the market, Just Us! must restructure the business model of its coffeehouses.

In order to attempt to increase revenues, Just Us! can pursue the following options. Firstly, Just Us! could purchase one, two, or three Just Us! Satellite shops, which sell coffee under Just Us!’s name but are owned by private entities. Another option for Just Us! is to invest in hosting events at its coffee shops and draw in customers with additional entertainment. This would bring a new “third place” experience to Just Us!’s cafés that would further differentiate Just Us! from other coffee shops. A third option is to design and launch a seasonal menu backed by advertising to draw in curious customers. Lastly, Just Us! could host a Fair Trade Fair, in which local fair trade shops would set up booths and showcase their products, ultimately placing Just Us!’s name at the forefront of the local fair trade market.

No matter which option Just Us! pursues, its concerns about paying for WiFi without it providing value to customers are unfounded. WiFi is a standard for cafés in the early 2010’s. Without WiFi, Just Us! stands to lose current customers and deter future customers from visiting its cafés. Additionally, the cost of WiFi is only worth 1.2% of Just Us!’s proposed advertising budget.

Just Us! has the option to purchase one or more satellite Just Us! Cafés or a rival coffee houses. Acquiring another coffee shop would immediately increase the revenues of Just Us!’s coffee shops due to pre-existing sales channels that would immediately flow to Just Us!, however the increase in operating profit would be so minute that Just Us! should not seriously consider this option. Assuming that most of the satellite coffeehouses’ revenues come from coffee or coffee drink sales, they would only make around $4,000 of operating profit each year per