Starbucks
ByNews that Starbucks is closing 5% of their stores comes as more than a surprise to some. Its the canary in the mine shaft. For a year critics have been arguing about the economy and whether we are in a recession. This closure of stores can be a fine mark that a recession is upon us.
We could make the argument that the companies growth was too much too fast with every city block seems to be dotted with the ubiquitous green logo. While other coffee proprietors fight for a piece of the market and try to catch up bolstering their brand with research saying American’s prefer the taste of their more traditional bled. Even McDonald’s introduces items similar, yet many American’s now refer to a cup of coffee as not joe… but Starbucks.
A year ago a memo was leaked about the need to for Starbucks to return to its roots. Included in the changes; a need to focus on the stores which have turned into automats with green smocked employees who would just press a series of buttons to create the products with long names that signified the unique blend they request. The president wanted to bring back the originality of Starbucks. Bring back the coffee house atmosphere with conversation plus the gourmet creation of coffee, the first step would be to return to the original blend and get rid of pastries. Now it seems that the Starbucks need to close some of their stories because quite simply they are competing with each other and that system isn’t working.
I think it is all a case of bad timing. The canary has died in the mine shaft. Its warning us that worse times are on the way. A time where one cannot afford three dollar coffee and gas is at an all time high. It also reminds me of a warning I received when I first started working. A coworker advised “you know how your company is doing by the items they provide free for their employees. You must start to worry when they switch to one ply in the bathroom and when they take away the free coffee.”
