http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2007/02/starbucks-brand-dilution/ Rants and Raves on Espresso Sun, 20 Jul 2008 06:10:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2007/02/starbucks-brand-dilution/#comment-3013 Espresso News and Reviews - TheShot.coffeeratings.com » Starbucks, Hershey to offer coffee-flavored chocolate products in the U.S. Fri, 20 Jul 2007 22:49:56 +0000 http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/?p=384#comment-3013 [...] bristle at the suggestion that their corporation represents the fast food of coffee. (This despite lamenting memos from the chairman to the contrary.) But when was the last time Starbucks made a corporate decision [...] [...] bristle at the suggestion that their corporation represents the fast food of coffee. (This despite lamenting memos from the chairman to the contrary.) But when was the last time Starbucks made a corporate decision [...]

]]> http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2007/02/starbucks-brand-dilution/#comment-2271 Espresso News and Reviews - TheShot.coffeeratings.com » Starbucks: the coffee giant blending in Europe Mon, 16 Apr 2007 23:58:22 +0000 http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/?p=384#comment-2271 [...] Today on Agoravox, a European citizen journalism portal, a poster wrote an article about the growth of Starbucks Coffee in Europe: Starbucks; the coffee giant blending in Europe - AGORAVOX - The Citizen Media. Over the past few years, the chain has proliferated in Paris, the UK, and a multitude of other European locations as it continues to execute on its plans to expand to 40,000 stores. [...] [...] Today on Agoravox, a European citizen journalism portal, a poster wrote an article about the growth of Starbucks Coffee in Europe: Starbucks; the coffee giant blending in Europe - AGORAVOX - The Citizen Media. Over the past few years, the chain has proliferated in Paris, the UK, and a multitude of other European locations as it continues to execute on its plans to expand to 40,000 stores. [...]

]]> http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2007/02/starbucks-brand-dilution/#comment-1582 Espresso News and Reviews - TheShot.coffeeratings.com » Coffee roasting for the computer age Mon, 26 Mar 2007 18:41:10 +0000 http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/?p=384#comment-1582 [...] It’s no secret that I generally disdain superautomated espresso machines (myself and Howard Schultz apparently included) and the convenience-step-forward/quality-step-backwards home pod machines. So you may get the (false) impression that, when it comes to coffee, I am an anti-technology Luddite. While I have never placed PID temperature controllers on the group of my home machine — and while I have no faith a machine will ever be able to toss out substandard shots the way Sammy Piccolo can — with coffee roasting it’s a different story. [...] [...] It’s no secret that I generally disdain superautomated espresso machines (myself and Howard Schultz apparently included) and the convenience-step-forward/quality-step-backwards home pod machines. So you may get the (false) impression that, when it comes to coffee, I am an anti-technology Luddite. While I have never placed PID temperature controllers on the group of my home machine — and while I have no faith a machine will ever be able to toss out substandard shots the way Sammy Piccolo can — with coffee roasting it’s a different story. [...]

]]> http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2007/02/starbucks-brand-dilution/#comment-1013 Espresso News and Reviews - TheShot.coffeeratings.com » Coffee roaster pushes beyond its ‘Peetnik’ roots Thu, 08 Mar 2007 22:49:27 +0000 http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/?p=384#comment-1013 [...] Will Peet’s growth plans allow it to preserve a higher quality standard? Or will it succumb to becoming just another Starbucks wannabe where quantity rules over quality. Peet’s needs to preserve its quality standards as a differentiator. However, those standards will inevitably decline with their expansion plans. The question is how much. UPDATE: March 8, 2007 Peet’s expansion plans were the subject of a Contra Costa Times article today: ContraCostaTimes.com | 03/08/2007 | Peet’s future is percolating. Their challenge is how to grow without the bloat of Starbucks. [...] [...] Will Peet’s growth plans allow it to preserve a higher quality standard? Or will it succumb to becoming just another Starbucks wannabe where quantity rules over quality. Peet’s needs to preserve its quality standards as a differentiator. However, those standards will inevitably decline with their expansion plans. The question is how much. UPDATE: March 8, 2007 Peet’s expansion plans were the subject of a Contra Costa Times article today: ContraCostaTimes.com | 03/08/2007 | Peet’s future is percolating. Their challenge is how to grow without the bloat of Starbucks. [...]

]]> http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2007/02/starbucks-brand-dilution/#comment-987 Espresso News and Reviews - TheShot.coffeeratings.com » All the King’s Horses, and All the King’s Marketing Consultants… Tue, 06 Mar 2007 21:31:34 +0000 http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/?p=384#comment-987 [...] That’s all I could think of when reading the media and blogosphere response over the past week to an executive memo written by Starbucks’ founder and corporate chairman, Howard Schultz (as reported here two Saturdays ago). In the memo, the founder lamented the loss of Starbucks’ “romance” for the sake of rampant, metastasis-like growth — citing the infiltration of superautomatic Verismo machines, bagged coffee, and cookie-cutter store designs. The memo was leaked as a sort of PR stunt; Starbucks first floated it out, leaving it up to public interpretation to see if it had the desired effect, and only afterwards did the corporation verify the memo’s authenticity. [...] [...] That’s all I could think of when reading the media and blogosphere response over the past week to an executive memo written by Starbucks’ founder and corporate chairman, Howard Schultz (as reported here two Saturdays ago). In the memo, the founder lamented the loss of Starbucks’ “romance” for the sake of rampant, metastasis-like growth — citing the infiltration of superautomatic Verismo machines, bagged coffee, and cookie-cutter store designs. The memo was leaked as a sort of PR stunt; Starbucks first floated it out, leaving it up to public interpretation to see if it had the desired effect, and only afterwards did the corporation verify the memo’s authenticity. [...]

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