Verified Document

Starbucks The Company That I Case Study

There are other coffee chains in the country, but none of them are American, so Starbucks has an edge there. However, in more fashionable areas of Beijing there are Chinese coffee shops that offer their own take on a relaxing coffee shop experience. Starbucks must position not only against foreign competition and traditional Chinese tea culture, but against the inevitability of a Chinese-grown competitor. As CEO, I would recommend that Starbucks double down on the American-ness of its experience. This gives the company an edge that cannot be easily matched. However, the company must also work with its local franchisees to ensure that it leads trends, rather than follows them, as Chinese competitors emerge. Many of the new competitors will emulate the more successful aspects of Starbucks' business model, so branding and brand protection are going to be critical elements of the company's expansion strategy going forward. Starbucks must enter the remaining major Chinese markets, and ensure that its brand becomes well-established, and work with local legal authorities to uphold the integrity of the brand as best as possible. The COO is responsible for the tactics that will bring about the growth strategy. The first recommendation for the COO is to ensure that reliable financing is available. Much of the growth in China early on for Starbucks was financed by the cash cow operations in the U.S. Given that the U.S. business has effectively plateaued, the COO needs to ensure that the Chinese subsidiary is self-financing or that local partners have access to local financing.

The second issue is with regards to logistics capabilities. Starbucks needs to ensure that it has the ability to produce the decor and acquire the equipment needed to growth in China. Perhaps more important is finding good managerial talent, something that China often imports from Taiwan and Hong Kong. It is recommended that Starbucks open a teaching academy in China that will allow it to train managers within its ranks. The company can therefore use...

Some of the other issues, like people staying too long, are less critical and will not significantly affect the trajectory of growth in China, but money and talent are key constraints to growth that must be addressed.
Starbucks is faced with an interesting challenge in that the core growth of the business is in the Chinese market, because it has saturated the American market. The company could undo the good it has done in China if it fails to execute a growth strategy effectively. Going forward, the recommendations to the CEO and COO will help the company to manage growth in China without compromising the integrity of the brand, but still dealing with the challenges presented by rapid growth and the emergence of intense competition from Nestle and upcoming competition from local players.

Works Cited:

Baertlein, L. & Jones, T. (2012). Lingering customers just one hurdle for Starbucks China growth. Reuters. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/18/us-starbucks-china-idUSBRE83H0ET20120418

Doherty, D. (2012). Nestle to battle Starbucks in Chinese premium coffee market. Bloomberg. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-16/nestle-to-battle-starbucks-over-chinese-portioned-coffee-market.html

Oches, S. (2012). The QSR 50. QSR Magazine. Retrieved October 31, 2012 f rom http://www.qsrmagazine.com/reports/qsr50-2012-top-50-chart

Starbucks 2011 Annual Report. In possession of the author

Starbucks. (2012). Starbucks believes that China will be second largest market by 2014. Starbucks Corporation. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=641

Wang, H. (2012). Five things Starbucks did to get China right. Forbes. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2012/08/10/five-things-starbucks-did-to-get-china-right/

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited:

Baertlein, L. & Jones, T. (2012). Lingering customers just one hurdle for Starbucks China growth. Reuters. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/18/us-starbucks-china-idUSBRE83H0ET20120418

Doherty, D. (2012). Nestle to battle Starbucks in Chinese premium coffee market. Bloomberg. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-16/nestle-to-battle-starbucks-over-chinese-portioned-coffee-market.html

Oches, S. (2012). The QSR 50. QSR Magazine. Retrieved October 31, 2012 f rom http://www.qsrmagazine.com/reports/qsr50-2012-top-50-chart

Starbucks 2011 Annual Report. In possession of the author
Starbucks. (2012). Starbucks believes that China will be second largest market by 2014. Starbucks Corporation. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=641
Wang, H. (2012). Five things Starbucks did to get China right. Forbes. Retrieved October 31, 2012 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2012/08/10/five-things-starbucks-did-to-get-china-right/
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Starbucks Yes, Starbucks Company Has
Words: 533 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

Similarly, the reviews tell the management about the benefits and other insurances that the company offers to the most productive employees. In addition, the employees are encouraged to send their suggestions through the Web page to improve customer service or increase productivity. These plans and programs suggested by employees are evaluated and screened out and some viable programs then put to use for customer improvement. Q. 3. There are several ways

Starbucks Company Ratio Analysis
Words: 808 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Starbucks Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis is a tool that is beneficial in undertaking quantitative analysis on figures found on financial statements. Ratios provide a common approach for comparing financial strength and performance of two or more companies. Imperatively, ratios can divulge a company’s financial strength or weakness in addition to divulge trends regarding business conditions and profitability (Noreen, Brewer, and Garrison, 2017). The main purpose of this assignment is to perform

Starbucks Operates in the Quick
Words: 4842 Length: 18 Document Type: Term Paper

However, the company has in general enjoyed success overseas and as a result international sales now account for 27% of operating income (2010 Starbucks Annual Report). The international division remains a key source for growth at Starbucks, in particular the Chinese market, where Starbucks has enjoyed considerable success and now sits at over 500 stores. The company struggled in the mid-2000s due to two main factors. The first was the

Starbucks' Human Resource Management Policies and the
Words: 3854 Length: 15 Document Type: Essay

Starbucks' Human Resource Management Policies and the Growth Challenge In recent years, there has been much interest in the notion of "high commitment" human resource management (HRM). The high commitment HRM is focused on developing self-regulated behavior among employees that is based on mutual trust rather than external sanctions and pressures. Considering this premise, this paper provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed, scholarly and organizational. literature concerning the advantages of

Starbucks Case Analysis What Factors Accounted for
Words: 1424 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Starbucks Case Analysis What factors accounted for the extraordinary success of Starbucks in the early 1990s? What was so compelling about the Starbucks value proposition? What brand image did Starbucks develop during this period? Many factors accounted for the extra-ordinary success of the Starbucks in the early 1990's. The Starbucks nearly wanted to be the leading branding company for the coffee all through the world. For sure they nearly owned one-third of

Starbucks Wake Up and Smell
Words: 1788 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Neither McDonalds nor Dunkin Donuts has a product quite like this one. In order to further beat the competition, this product should be manufactured as soon as possible. Though some customers may be tempted to choose a Dunkin Donuts or McDonalds coffee over Starbucks by their proximity to the competitors' restaurants, one whiff of the air freshener will change their minds and have them driving back to Starbucks. Since 1971,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now