Starbucks execs push back-to-our-roots
shift
Scott Wong
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 28, 2007 12:00 AM
Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz has warned company executives
that the coffee giant's phenomenal expansion has led to the
"watering down of the Starbucks experience," possibly exposing the
brand to competition.
Jim Alling, president of Starbucks Coffee U.S., embraced that
message Tuesday, saying there's no better time for the
Seattle-based behemoth to return to its roots.
"It's a good time to be introspective. . . . It's a good time to
get back to your core when you're successful," Alling told 280
people at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale. In a
decade of unrivaled growth, Starbucks has seen baristas give way to
espresso machines and store designs move from comfy to
"cookie-cutter." Known for its Frappuccinos and personalized
coffees, it has experimented with selling everything from
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But Alling, a 1985 Thunderbird alum, said the company could
rediscover its core by focusing on its two pillars of success: its
coffee and its people. It can do that by paying more attention to
its coffee products and continuing to increase wages and benefits,
he said.
In a Feb. 14 memo, Schultz wrote that taking the necessary steps to
grow the company from fewer than 1,000 stores to 13,000 in a
decade's time has "led to . . . what some might call the
commoditization of our brand."
"Many of these decisions were probably right at the time, and on
their own merit would not have created the dilution of the
experience," he said, "but in this case, the sum is much greater
and, unfortunately, much more damaging than the individual
pieces."
Customers at a nearby Starbucks in Glendale, however, said they
still see the ubiquitous coffee company as the same old
coffeehouse. Relaxing on the patio outside a shop at Loop 101 and
Union Hills Drive, Jessica Roan said she has not altered her daily
coffee routine even though Starbucks now caters to grab-and-go
customers and serves up sandwiches alongside its traditional
brews.
The 22-year-old waitress from Surprise has been ordering an iced
latte (or, in Starbucks lingo, an iced quad vent, no whip, white
mocha) every day since the age of 12.
Jennifer Dillon of Glendale agreed: "It's still a coffeehouse. It's
family-friendly."
Thulasi Devadas, a first-year Thunderbird business student said
Starbucks must strike a balance between cultural understanding and
corporate philosophy as it branches out.
"If they are applying the same model throughout the world, they
might have some problems because of the different cultures," said
Devadas, who moved from India for school. "But if they concentrate
on service to customers, they can grow big and still stick to their
core values.
-AZ Central.com