The Provenance Of The Bean!
Last month, I covered the idiocy that is Starbucks. If you recall, the biggest idiot of all, Howard Schultz, CEO, had it all figured out:
After more than a decade of sensational buzz, Starbucks is struggling nationwide as it faces slowing sales growth and increased competition.
The man who built the chain, Howard D. Schultz, has retaken the reins in an effort to revive it. He is scheduled to roll out a plan on Wednesday that will almost certainly involve shutting down more stores in the United States while accelerating expansion overseas.
Mr. Schultz has said he wants to refocus on the “customer experience,†recapturing some of the magic of the chain’s early years, when employees — who had heard the term barista before Starbucks came along? — made the drinks by hand and customers were excited by top-notch coffee.
So how do you think that worked? Not so good:
SEATTLE — For a decade it appeared there was no such thing as too many Starbucks for U.S. coffee drinkers, whose willingness to buy its $4 lattes and dark drip brews rationalized a second green-and-white mermaid awning just down the street - and sometimes even a third.
But in a sign that those days are over, Starbucks Corp. announced Tuesday it will close 600 company-operated stores in the next year as the faltering U.S. economy hastened the pain caused by the company’s own rapid expansion.
Of course, it’s the economy at fault, and not their all image and no substance business model.
Idiots.
Hat tip to the Anchoress.
GM Cassel AMH1(AW) USN RET:
At almost 2 bucks for plain coffee the cool factor is going out the window. I do better at home or when on the road at a fuel stop.
July 3, 2008, 11:22 amrightwingprof:
I have an espresso machine here at home (actually, it’s one of those coffee machines and espresso machines in one). I rarely frequent Starbucks, and strongly prefer the drive-through.
July 3, 2008, 4:50 pm