Coffee and Starbucks
Starbucks
Contents
Introduction 3
The organization’s strategic position 3
External drivers affecting this organization 6
Value adding in Starbucks 9
Sustainability of Starbucks’s strategic position 13
Conclusion 14
References 15
Introduction
Starbucks, the biggest coffee retailer in the world, grows from a small, regional business into the undisputable leader in the specialty coffee industry. It arrives in the UK in 1998 with the acquisition of Seattle Coffee Company in the UK as its starting point. As soon as it expanded, many native coffee stores were driven out of business and other big rivals were forced to quicken their growth to beat this new invader. From then on, Starbucks remained the market leader leaving others far behind until recently some coffee giants such as Costa are catching up. In view of the big susses of Starbucks in the UK, this essay tries to analysis its competitive strategies which are the core elements to its success. In the second part, the organization’s strategic position is described. In the third part, the external drivers affecting this organization are illustrated. In the fourth part, the value adding in this organization is thoroughly analyzed. Last, the evaluation of the sustainability of the organization’s strategic position is made.
The organization’s strategic position
1) Based on generic strategy
Strategic position is a position taken by an organization to gain competitive advantages at present and in the future, which includes the devising of the right goals of the organization, developing optimal strategies based on the goals and the present environment, and putting these strategies into practice to realize the goals (Porter, 2001). According to Porter’s generic strategy, an organization 's strategic position is given by its choice of competitive advantage, cost leadership or differentiation, and its choice of competitive scope, narrow
Contents
Introduction 3
The organization’s strategic position 3
External drivers affecting this organization 6
Value adding in Starbucks 9
Sustainability of Starbucks’s strategic position 13
Conclusion 14
References 15
Introduction
Starbucks, the biggest coffee retailer in the world, grows from a small, regional business into the undisputable leader in the specialty coffee industry. It arrives in the UK in 1998 with the acquisition of Seattle Coffee Company in the UK as its starting point. As soon as it expanded, many native coffee stores were driven out of business and other big rivals were forced to quicken their growth to beat this new invader. From then on, Starbucks remained the market leader leaving others far behind until recently some coffee giants such as Costa are catching up. In view of the big susses of Starbucks in the UK, this essay tries to analysis its competitive strategies which are the core elements to its success. In the second part, the organization’s strategic position is described. In the third part, the external drivers affecting this organization are illustrated. In the fourth part, the value adding in this organization is thoroughly analyzed. Last, the evaluation of the sustainability of the organization’s strategic position is made.
The organization’s strategic position
1) Based on generic strategy
Strategic position is a position taken by an organization to gain competitive advantages at present and in the future, which includes the devising of the right goals of the organization, developing optimal strategies based on the goals and the present environment, and putting these strategies into practice to realize the goals (Porter, 2001). According to Porter’s generic strategy, an organization 's strategic position is given by its choice of competitive advantage, cost leadership or differentiation, and its choice of competitive scope, narrow
References: Barney, J., 1996, Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage, NY: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company Barney, J Johnson, G., Scholes, K. and Whittington, R., 2005, Exploring Corporate Strategy, NY: Prentice Hall Porter, M., 1985, Competitive Advantage, NY: The Free Press Porter, M., Strategy and the Internet, Harvard Business Review, 79(3), pp 16-20 Porter, M., 1985, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining superior Performance, NY: Prentice Hall Porter, M., 1998, Competitive strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors, NY: Free Press Partridge, L Priem, R and Butler, J., 2001, Is the Resource-Based Theory a Useful Perspective for Strategic Management Research? Academy of Management Review, 26 (1), pp.22–40 Starbucks, 2009, Available at: http://starbucks.co.uk/en-GB/, Access [01/09/10] Saloner, G., Shepard, A. and Podolny, J., 2000, Strategic management, NJ: Wiley Eurocheapo, 2009, The cheapest coffee in London, Available at: http://www.eurocheapo.com/blog/the-cheapest-cup-of-coffee-in-london.html, Access [01/09/10]