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Harvard Business Review Case: Starbucks

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Harvard Business Review Case: Starbucks

Harvard Business Review Case: Starbucks

This case study will review how Starbucks is doing financially, examine marketing segmentation and life style changes impacting Starbucks based on the Harvard Business Review case information, and what Hambrick strategy elements Starbucks should focus on most for improvement. “Starbucks’ brand strategy was best captured by its live coffee mantra, a phrase that reflected the importance the company attached to keeping the national coffee culture alive. From a retail perspective, this meant creating an experience around the consumption of coffee, an experience that people could weave into the fabric of their everyday lives” (Moon & Quelch, 2006). Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world. Starbucks Corporation operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty coffee worldwide. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, packaged roasted whole bean and ground coffees, juices, various food products, as well as beverage-making equipment and accessories. In addition, it licenses the rights to produce and distribute Starbucks branded products, as well as licenses its trademarks through licensed stores, grocery, and national foodservice accounts. Over the last ten years, with the exception of 2008-2009, Starbucks has had at least 9 percent + revenue increases from year to year (revenue spreadsheet attached). In 2008, Starbucks shut down 800 poorly performing U.S. stores and laid-off 4,000 employees and the impact was reflected in a decline in revenues from 10,383 USD million in 2008 to 9775 USD million in 2009. The fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 capped off by far the best year in Starbucks 42-year-history. Geographically, Starbucks saw $2.8 billion in net revenues from its Americas

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