Value Meals...at Starbucks?

article:http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/03/04/starbucks-3-95-breakfast-brand-new-day/

Starbucks has finally joined the masses and introduced a so-called "value-meal". For $3.95, customers can get a breakfast item, either a sandwhich or oatmeal, and a latte. Sound like a revolutionary idea? It does theoretically, but the problem is, the same loyal Starbucks customers will be enjoying these deals, but that's not what Starbucks is aiming at. Starbucks used this new deal to bring back in the unfaithful Starbucks customers who have now turned to McDonald's, and to customers who have never gone to Starbucks because of the prices.

The problem is this new deal is not doing that, 3.95 is still a good half-dollar more than a McDonalds combo meal which includes a sausage or egg Mcmuffin, a hashbrown, and coffee. Plus the fact that it's probably faster. In these hard times, there's a good chance customers will turn to this option.

Some Starbucks customers are very concerned that the company is spinning out of control and is starting to look more like old navy when it should look like Lacoste. This is true. Not only are they lowering their standards by introducing this new value product, but they are changing who they are. This is what people love about Starbucks, the class and the high-scale products. This new value meal almost seems to cheapen it.

The good news is that Starbucks stock has gone up 8 cents since the new deal. This could be a temporary high that could be followed by a bigger drop than before for the reasons listed above. I like the new deal personally, and I can see myself getting sucked into getting it. Also, oatmeal is bery nutritious and in a society where people are constantly looking for healthy options, this is a great draw to the new deal.

For now, it looks like things are going up for Starbucks so let's hope it stays this way for a long time. The good news is, despite the new value meal, the infamous Starbucks coffee still exists, and isn't that was initially drew people to the world famous coffee shop. Ultimately the coffee will draw people despite any other sales pitch the corporation may try to offer to work against the current recession.

Bye Bye Wolf Coffee, Hello Starbucks

Article:http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090420/ARTICLES/904209934/1349?Title=Last-cup-for-Wolf-Coffee

Why are there Starbucks EVERYHWHERE? I don't know, but Wolf Coffee is asking the same question. According to Kevin Mccallum, Wolf Coffee's original intentions were to provide a sit down coffee place where customers could go to enjoy a cup of coffee in Sonoma County, CA. The problem is, Starbucks has literally run the once largest independent coffee house chain in Sonoma County out.

Mccallum explains that the once successful coffee shop now has at least 4 Starbucks right around it, and no one would even be able to find the shop without first running into numerous Starbucks. This is pretty ridiculous, considering Wolf is a local and very popular coffee shop that i'm sure has a lot of history in the county. It's a shame that Starbucks is running out the more laid back, enjoying coffee shops, where customers can go to enjoy a cup of coffee and a book, and reflect on their life. It wasn't just one or two stores, but the 42 stores total in the area have really taken a toll of the business at Wolf coffee.

Rick and Jeannie Mariani, the owners of Wolf explained that our culture was once a sit-down and enjoy a cup of coffee kind of culture, but it has turned into such a fast paced, drive-through, type culture. This is why a place like Wolf was bound to go under. Wolf will still be operating a whole sale business so the coffee can be sold at grocery stores and other shops, but there will be no more actual coffee shops.

I am from a very fun city where we, the residents, pride ourselves on the small local restaurants and coffee shops. So I, speaking from experience, would be very upset to hear if one of these shops were closing. Wolf has every right to be annoyed with the whole sitation, considering their initial success. Starbucks should probably rethink this because they are going to end up with a lot of bitter customers who refuse to add to their monopoly on coffee houses.

Also, now that Starbucks is starting to close down stores aroudn the nation, i'm sure they understand the feeling. It could be Karma, or maybe just the downturn in the economy, whatever it is, both companies are hurting bad.

Fiscal Report for 2008, let's see if this one is actually true...

Article: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090422006395&newsLang=en

Starbucks is releasing their annual fiscal report for 2008. To do this, they have created a website called Starbucks Shared Planet with interactive sections of the report that are important to them. I think this is a really cool and actually spent a good amount of time exploring the website myself.

In one part of the website it Starbucks claims that they have always been committed to doing business in a responsible way. To me, this is a very bold statement and really shouldn't be made with all the fuss about how much water is wasted daily by Starbucks, and how they refuse to use recyclable cups.

I like the idea behind explaining everything on an interactive website and I like that everything on the website is explained and illustrated well. 

On the website, there is a mug pledge where customers or visitors to the site can pledge to bring in mugs rather than using the non-disposable cups. To me, this is hypocritical because Starbucks is encouraging customers to bring in mugs when they could easily switch to an alternative hot coffee cup which would be recyclable.

I'm excited to use the report in my most recent paper concerning ethics and Ads by Starbucks. This whole ad and campaign very clearly states Starbucks so called "intentions" for coporate responsibility so it will be interesting to see if any of their practices ignore this commitment and campaign. 

On the website is a virtual tour of the new green Starbucks which illustrates all the green aspects of the  new stores. Also, the article shows the numbers on ethical sourcing, stewardship, and community involvement. The new numbers are astounding and I have never seen such high numbers since i first began studying the corporation. This will really make for a good measure of Starbucks real practices. 

Starbucks decided to open up this site on earth day, which i know will draw more customers in. This is a great way to get people involved in the Starbucks shared responsibility campaign. There is an aspect of advertising that has to be examined so that customers know that Starbucks is backing up what is in the Social Responsibility report with actions. 

McDonalds taking over

Article:http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/04/15/ap6294709.html
This article describes in length the reason for the recent drop in shares for Starbucks. The new McDonalds coffee campaign could significantly hurt Starbucks so experts are telling share holders to sell stock. This is very sad to hear about Starbucks because Starbucks has always been such a signature American tradition, but I guess with the new recession, people really don’t have an option anymore. The difference in prices for McDonald’s coffee and Starbucks is about 40 to 45 cents. That is enough to send people to McDonalds. I really don’t agree with Starbucks for doing this. McDonald’s has always been the number one fast food restaurant for Americans, and now they are choosing to compete with the number one coffee retailer. The article suggests that Starbucks addresses this new problem directly. There could potentially be a quality gap, but like I said earlier, in these times, it really doesn’t matter to consumers. This issue is very important and serious so that is why I chose to address it. Time and time again, the issue of Starbuck’s prices comes up. It really is hard for this kind of business to survive in a time like this, because for most, coffee is an optional luxury, especially high quality Starbucks coffee. This new campaign for McDonalds will be key factor in sustaining U.S. same-store sales momentum according to the article which will be very good for our economy, so I do have mixed feelings on the issue. I guess since spending so much quality time with Starbucks recently, writing papers and researching, I have special place in my heart for the corporation. I hope both companies will prevail and the economy will improve, obviously. That would be very hard, obviously, but I believe with the new instant coffee campaign for Starbucks and new similar ones, Starbucks will be fine.

STARBUCKS are going down everywhere

ARTICLE: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2009/04/06/daily40.html

Mark Anderson wrote a short article in the Sacramento Business Journal concerning the closing of 7 starbucks stores in the Sacramento Area. The rest of the article explains where exactly the stores will be closing. What I thought was interesting were the comments left on the article. One person, a mom or “fan”, explains why Starbucks is such a great asset to any community. She has four college aged children who have participated in the training programs and been were included in the benefits for part time workers. I never knew Starbucks did either of these. Although people complain about Starbucks’ hypocrisy concerning their social responsibility, Starbucks really has made large strides in improving other aspects of our society, like, training new workers in the field and starting them off with benefits as a boost into the work world. She explains that the stores closing is a disappointment because people will lose these extra bonuses and jobs that are desperately needed. The economy is what is causing all of this, it has nothing to do with Starbucks. I think that it is obviously partly the economy, but also I’m sure it has to do with the high prices Starbucks has. There service is normally really good and their coffee and food is excellent but their prices are a little high, so in these hard times, their business will inevitably go down. A cup of coffee is normally the first thing to go when people start cutting down financially.
The second comment comes from a man who is ecstatic at the new closure of the stores. He explains that the over abundance of Starbucks everywhere overrun all the small locally owned coffee shops and it’s about time these other shops get business. He has a little bit of a sarcastic attitude by saying things will only get better when they(Starbucks) is “long gone”. Both critics examine separate issues about the Corporation and both are true in certain ways.