International Business of Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation established in 1971 has its headquarters based in Seattle, Washington. The company is the leading and largest coffeehouse company, with a wide coverage of the market across the globe (Simon, 2009). It is a global coffee company and chain of coffeehouse stores, operating in over 50 countries all over the world. At its founding, it was a mainstream coffee bean roaster and retailer. The company founders were a group of three partners, who were students in the University of San Francisco at the time of its establishment. Originally, Starbucks only roasted whole coffee beans, without brewing, but later came to incorporate aspects of brewing and other products. They used to get supplies from Peet's, but later bought Peet's and started dealing directly with the growers, hence began to expand (Simon, 2009). Eventually, the company expanded in the 1980's and 1990 is within the America's and later the other continents of the world.
Mission statement
The mission statement of Starbucks is to inspire and nature the human spirit by inspiring one person with one cup and one neighborhood at a time (Seaford, Culp & Brooks, 2012). Through this statement, the company incorporates its core principles in business, which include being passionate about quality, which helps them relate with favor from their customers. Similarly, they incorporate their partners, embracing diversity and treating each other with respect and dignity, hence, the success of the company. The company believes that every store is part of the community it operates in; thus, they take responsibility to good neighbors and meet their social accountability and responsibility. Thus, when the customers get into the stores of Starbucks, they always feel a sense of belonging, as the stores are always full of a sense of humanity as the mission statement indicates.
Product mix of Starbucks
Starbucks as a leading coffeehouse company in the world operates over 5,500 stores in over 50 countries. From the single store opened n 1971, it used to offer only roasted whole coffee beans. However, with time and its apparent expansion, the product lines grew to incorporate various products. The products offered in the company coffeehouse stores include, beverages, comprising of coffee, Tazo tea, soda and juices, it offers pastries comprising of whole coffee beans, and merchandise consisting of mugs and compact discs. The company has an entertainment division, in which it does its marketing of books, music and films, with the products in this line being seasonal, and varying from the stores in various countries (Fitzgerald, 2013). The company revolutionized coffee products offered in the United States and across the world markets.
Marketing philosophy and strategy
Starbucks has its largest and leading oversee markets in Japan, where it operates over 480 stores, in England where it has over 370 stores and China and Taiwan, which both have over 120 stores (Seaford, Culp & Brooks, 2012). It also has other stores in various countries, with the largest coverage of stores located in the United States and Canada. Additionally, the company operates in two industries that is restaurants and coffeehouses, and serves a worldwide geographical area, which gives it vast market to operate. The marketing philosophy and strategies of Starbucks are engraved in the business policies and ethics of the company. The philosophies that enable Starbucks to maintain local and international competitiveness include the following. First, the company basis on great global partnerships; thus, it owes much of its international success on the international partners. The company chooses partners in a critical way, being precise and selective in qualities of partners (Liu, Huang & Chen, 2012). Secondly, the company holds deep respect for the local cultures. This philosophy borrows from the aspect of being international; it operates in different communities, with varying cultures and beliefs. Thus, the company respects the culture and traditions of the countries and people with which they do business. The company recognizes that success is not an entitlement; thus, it strives to earn the trust and respect of their customers daily through this philosophy.
The strategies ensuring the success of Starbucks include the following. History shows that the company places immense emphasis on product quality; thus, providing the perfect cup of coffee, which is delicious and satisfying to customers, is the first strategy. Despite the slightly high price, this strategy ensures customer retention (Pham-Gia, 2009). The second strategy is that it focuses on providing a third place for customers that is between home and work. The unique relaxing experience and atmosphere helps the company to strongly attract customers and retain them. Thirdly, the company employs time and resources to create a community around its brand. The websites of Starbucks and social sites provide a platform for customers to relate with the company; hence, it markets it significantly. Moreover, the company...
International Business Shenkar & Luo (n.d.) note that "international business strategy must aim to find the most effective balance between global integration and local responsiveness" when entering new markets. Thus, firms need to balance all of the different factors that go into the market entry decision in order to enjoy the best outcomes. Among the key issues are timing of entry and mode of entry. There has been considerable research with respect
For instance, McDonald's has a solid partnership with Starbucks that came as a natural solution to the increased consumption of coffee in its restaurants. Starbucks happens to be the world's leading specialty coffee retailer with a worldwide presence that matches that of the fast food producer. 4. Other factors affecting decision Vietnam is an Asian country with strong oriental cooking habits, which might not be very compatible with McDonald's typical menu of
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The company also has an interest in hiring internally. Staffing is a challenge for Starbucks, however, because of the company's growth rate and the need to maintain high standards of customer service (Weber, 2005). This is why the company emphasizes training to the extent it does, because training and enculturation is needed to support the staffing policy. Employee Training and Development Starbucks has an extensive training program in order to ensure
In Japan for example, where Starbucks opened its first international outlet, the concept of group harmony and social cohesion is more important in business relations. In China the business relations revolve around personal relation while in Korea for example hierarchical relationships or obedience to authority becomes more crucial. In Northern Europe a participatory style of management is in place. Southern Europe on the other hand has workers that resent
A joint venture with companies in the homeland of the new facility is a distinct possibility. The great advantage of joint ventures is that the home company knows and understands the cultural environment better than that of a MNE. "Each member of the joint venture retains ownership of his or her property. And each member of the joint venture shares only the expenses of the particular project or venture… Joint
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