Starbucks Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Star BucksProblem StatementHoward Shultz and the senior management at Starbucks down to decide how to react to the opportunities that are being made available because of their rapid growth. The decision for a strategic growth plan has to be made in the near future. This bequeath prove to be key for Starbucks reaching their long-term goal of becoming the most recognized and respected disfigurement of coffee in the world.Situation AnalysisStarbucks is currently the industry leader in specialty coffee. They purchased more high quality coffee beans than anyone else in the world and keep in good standings with the producers to ensure they loaf the best beans. Getting the best beans is only the first part, Starbucks also has a closed loop system that protects the beans from oxygen straightway after roasting to the time of packaging. They did this through their invention of a one-way valve which let the natural gasses escape but keeping oxygen out. This gave them the unique read iness to ensure freshness and extended the shelf life to 26 weeks. Starbucks isnt only about the coffee, its also about a place where good deal plenty escape to enjoy music, reflect, read, or just chat. It is a total coffee experience. The retail outlet has been responsible for much of Starbucks growth and has contributed substantially to their brand equity. The Starbucks case doesnt mention many weaknesses. The main one, however, is their supply chain operations. This hasnt caused any problems yet but they mention that handling four line of credit units is becoming challenging. They have yet to come up with a long-term solution for such possible problems. As mention earlier Starbucks has many opportunities of which it can take advantage. These include a joint venture with McDonalds, where the restaurant giant would supply its customers with Starbucks coffee. Another is the bottled Frappuccino product that Pepsi and Starbucks have created. This has had a really positive chemical reaction in the test markets and posses to be a lucrative option. Starbucks could also look at the vertical integration possibility of producing its own beans. This could prove to be very successful if they can capture a significant amount of the production they could become a price setter in the coffee commodities. Also because atomic coffee retail outlets are so trendy it is possible for them to set ... ...nal locations in the heaviest coffee drinking countries. This has to be done quickly as to get the jump on other that may also be considering this type of a move. At the same time they should be selling franchise recompense for the coffee carts. This will provide an increased cash flow as well. During all of this Starbucks should be looking at coffee producers who are in financial trouble or are looking at selling their farms. This has to be done discretely as not to cause unnecessary bad press. After they stick out a couple of these coffee producing far ms for a few years they should be able to see how the whole operation works and determine its viability. Once its proven viable they should send out simultaneous offers to the biggest producers as to catch them and other coffee companies off guard. Starbucks also should be getting into the bottled Frappuccino as concisely as possible. They should leave the introduction of the product up to Pepsi because of their past experience. They should leave their entry into the grocery store market until some of these other strategies are implemented. This will prove to be the best strategy for Starbucks being able to reach their long-term gaol.