Starbucks: Re-creating Its Uniqueness
Stella Marie H. CapuleBA 190 - Strategic Management
University of the PhilippinesProf. Mita Angela M. Dimalanta
STARBUCKS• First store opened in 1971 in
Seattle, Washington• 23,768 locations worldwide• Mission
“To inspire and nurture human spirit – one person, one cup, one neighborhood at a time.”• Vision
“Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.”
What resources and capabilities formed the basis of the uniqueness of Starbucks in the first place?
STARBUCKS • Trademark: AMBIANCE• High quality products and services• Core competency: Customer
Experience • “The Starbucks Experience”• Valuable, rare, costly-to-imitate
intangible resource• Positioned themselves as the “second
place.”
Tangible and Intangible Resources
Why and how did Starbucks lose its uniqueness?
• Competencies can atrophy through forgetting.• Starbucks expanded operations
rapidly: doubled number of stores in 5 years (8,500 to 17,000 stores).• Expanded product line.• Stayed away from their core
business.• Starbucks forgot what made them
unique.
Re-creating Uniqueness
• 2009 – Launched Via (its new instant coffee)• 2010 – New guideline was
introduced• Baristas would no longer multitask,
but would focus on no more than two drinks at a time, starting the second one while finishing the first.
• GOAL: Bring back customer experience that built Starbucks as a brand.
Recommendations• Focus on their core competency and
provided high quality products and services instead of expanding product line.• Enhance their intangible products
through aligning the tangible products to their ‘culture’.• Take advantage of technology
(online orders, apps).• Venture out in new markets instead
of over-concentrating in one area.• Never forget their VMO.
Resources• https://www.starbucks.com/
about-us/company-information/mission-statement• https://www.starbucks.com/abou
t-us/company-information• Rothaermel, F. T. (2015).
Strategic Management (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
THANK YOU!