Starbucks Company Overview and Evaluation Order Instructions: Compare and contrast competitive strategies.
Evaluate global strategies and strategies for diversified companies. Assess the organizational components that impact strategy implementation. Evaluate the roles of ethics, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability in strategy implementation. #7 Develop a strategic plan for the global business.
Assignment Purpose: Final company project overview and project completion.
Conduct a company review of Starbucks. What are their unique growth and implementation strategies? Explain why they give the company a competitive advantage. Compared to other firms, Starbucks has been very successful in China, why is that? How does their strategy differ from the competition?
Starbucks Company Overview and Evaluation Sample Answer
Company Overview
Starbucks Evaluation
Even though some otarbucks products are highly priced in the market, they are still capable of attracting and retaining their niche target clients. Starbucks stock price was $7 in 2008, as compared to $80 per share in 2014.
Starbucks shares information on its plans for growth in more detail than is usually given by companies. The Starbucks increase the level of support that they get from shareholders through treating them as critical stakeholders of the organization that have a positive impact on its performance.
The Starbucks Company CEO has been a major influencer of the success gained through the use of aggressive tactics in expanding the company. The policies and practices that the CEO has introduced are based on the company’s culture and values. Therefore, there has been long-term consistency at the organization due to the utilization of its strengths
Unlike other companies that only use brick and mortar principles in business, Starbucks is open to now models of conducting business especially if they contribute to being close to the client. In a highly competitive market, Starbucks is ready to apply modern concepts of business in a means to capture as many clients as possible (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2014).
Unlike other coffee retail outlets, Starbucks has been highly successful in China. Starbucks has been successful in China because it was ready to change its products to suit the Chinese market. In addition to coffee, Starbucks also makes merchandise such as caps and shirts which it utilizes to increase brand awareness among its clients. China was a unique coffee retail market because it is traditionally tea drinking based market. The tea culture cannot be eliminated through the introduction of an international coffee retail outlet. Instead of trying to outdo the existing tea drinking culture among the members of the population, Starbucks integrated the culture into its products such as the introduction of tea-based flavors into their coffee products. The integration of the flavors contributed to differentiation of Starbucks in the coffee retail market. Other international food and beverage brands that have tried to enter into the market include Dunkin Donuts, Burger King, and Krispy Kreme.
Starbucks ensured that its retail outlets had air conditioning, and was attractive to the members of its target niche in the market composed of young and modern individuals in the country. Therefore, company executives, college students and other professionals or students around the cities could access and enjoy the Starbucks outlets.
Starbucks also differentiated itself by offering highly attractive incentives to its employees. The company believes that employees are an extension of the company’s brand. Therefore, if employees are pleased with a company, they would be ready to go an extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction. One of the reasons why most customers keep on going to Starbucks is because of the great customer service that they receive. Starbucks has an operating margin of about 24% as compared to the 21% margin observed in other countries such as the United States. The margin contributes to the above average salaries paid to the company’s employees. If employees feel appreciated, they are likely to transfer the aspect to clients; contributing to high client retention rates. Therefore, Starbucks clients still visit the outlet even though competitors might offer lower prices for similar products in the retail outlets (Wang, 2012).
Starbucks Company Overview and Evaluation References
Hitt, M.A., Ireland, D. & Hoskisson, R.E. (2014). Strategic management: Concepts: Competitiveness and Globalization. Ohio: Cengage brain.
Rein, S. (2012). Why Starbucks succeeds in China and others haven’t. USA Today. Retrieved 12th October 2016 from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/story/2012-02-12/cnbc-starbucks-secrets-of-china-success/53040820/1
Wang, H. (2012). Five Things Starbucks Did to Get China Right. Forbes. Retrieved 12th October 2016 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/helenwang/2012/08/10/five-things-starbucks-did-to-get-china-right/#536efe7848e3
