Starbucks Case Study

Submitted By sweewee
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Starbucks case study
Everyday thousands of people wake up early in the morning usually with the same routine day after day and usually with the thought of coffee on their minds. For most people find it far more convenient to swing by their favorite coffee shop or closest convenient store on their way to work. Lucky enough there is a Starbucks on just about every corner, as the saying goes. Starbucks is one the most popular coffee shops around the world, and has been ever since the early 1980’s.
Starbucks
Starbucks was created by Howard Schultz in Italy in the 1980’s, his plan was not to invent a empire of coffee shops, but was to give people a nice relaxing peaceful place to go just to read a book and enjoy a home like feeling with a nice hot cup of fresh java. Schultz wanted his customers to feel more like an extended family. Schultz made sure that his employees got to know each customer individually. Starbucks gave their customers such a warm and welcoming feeling that with their loyal customers they knew so well that the employee would have the customer’s drink order already prepared before the customer would even have a chance to order for themselves. This is possible because of the return customers and excellent customer service. Starbucks soon became so popular that more stores had to be built in order to accommodate the fast growth in customer demand. As more stores were built more customers came and the less the employees could remember customer names one by one.
What once was a home away from home has now turned into stop and go type feeling. It almost seemed as if Starbucks had an identity crisis. This seems to turn the customers away from the business causing the corporate empire to be forced to close some stores. Schultz was not happy about this and decided to change the clientele. Instead of serving primarily a richer more upscale type of clientele Starbucks would now primarily serve a lower class person. This meant having to rebuild its empire. Schultz built new stores in different neighborhoods so that it was more convenient for the new customer base.
Even though Starbucks had a major decrease in business and clientele Schultz wanted to launch a new campaign to educate customers on the Starbucks product and all around experience. Schultz added breakfast to the menu this caught the eye of customers and made them want to try the new menu products. It obviously worked because at end of 2009 Starbucks profit increased by 24 percent. Schultz still wasn’t happy with the increase of profit so he deiced to