Christina Penn 46077
BA 440 Marketing Analysis
Grantham University
Abstract
Starbucks has long enjoyed the top spot as the premier specialty coffee retailer in America. However in recent years the company has begun to see a trend in sales that puts them on the downhill slope. Although there are a great many strengths that the company maintains in the marketplace, there are also several weaknesses. In this paper I will discuss the SWOT analysis of Starbucks to include the strength and weaknesses of the company and several courses of action to correct the drop in sales that has had a hold on the organization in recent years.
Starbucks SWOT Analysis
Starbucks employs over 149,000 workers and brought in a profit of $1.38 billion in 2012 (www.strategicmanagementinsight.com). The company is a household name that has been featured in television and movies and a brand that is sought after by countless celebrities. Although the company is the top retailer of coffee in the United States, Starbucks has shown a trend in sales since early 2009 that allude to the fall of the “great coffeehouse empire”. Because of this troubling news, executives at Starbucks have began to look deeper into the strengths and weakness of the organization and have tried to build courses of action that will help propel the chain back to the top of their market.
The “Starbucks experience” is described by www.sosemarketing.com as being one of the strongest advantages of the company. It is “the experience delivered to its customers with perfectly blended coffee, premium music, friendly staff and warm atmosphere, which results in incomparable customer service”. The laidback atmosphere that Starbucks offers its customers is a direct reflection of the target audience that the organization is trying to acquire. The brand sees a majority of its profits from the 18-38 age
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