Foreign Trade University Module: Management (QTRE303)

Faculty of Business Administration Lecturer: Ngô Quý Nhâm

Department of Management & Human Resource Email: quynham@gmail.com
Website: www.ngoquynham.net

Case Application Planning – Starbucks Planning

All managers plan. The planning they do may be extensive or it may be limited. It might be for the
next week or month, or it might be for the next couple of years. It might cover a work group or it
might cover an entire division or the entire organization. No matter what type or extent of planning
a manager does, the important thing is that planning takes place. Without planning, there would
be nothing for managers to organize, lead, or control.

Based on Starbucks’ numerous achievements, there’s no doubt that managers have done their
planning. Let’s take a look.

Company Goals

In 2016, Starbucks had over 31,000 stores in more than 70 countries. The company continues to
add stores, planning for 30,000 worldwide by 2019. Of the planned expansion, 2,500 new stores
will be added in China. Starbucks successfully opened a new type of store in Seattle that combines
a roastery along with a café. It is set to open a similar facility in New York City, which will be the
company’s largest store yet at 20,000 square feet. CEO Howard Schultz said, “In New York, we
want to take elements from what we originally created and build something even bigger and bolder,
celebrating coffee and craft in a completely unique and differentiated way.”1 Starbucks’ financial
goals are ambitious, including revenue growth of 10 percent to 13 percent and $30 billion in annual
revenue by 2019. In addition to the quantitative/fiscal goals, Starbucks focuses on continuing to
develop new coffee/tea/juice/bakery products in multiple forms and staying true to its global
social responsibilities. Starbucks’ ambition is to rank among the world’s most admired brands
and enduring companies through its “laser focus on disciplined execution and robust innovation”
and to maintain Starbucks’ standing as one of the most recognized brands in the world.

Company Strategies

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Starbucks has been called the most dynamic retail brand over the last two decades. It has been able
to rise above the commodity nature of its product and become a global brand leader by reinventing
the coffee experience. Over 60 million times a week, a customer receives a product (hot drink,
chilled drink, food, etc.) from a Starbucks partner. It’s a reflection of the success that Howard
Schultz has had in creating something that never really existed in the United States—café life. And
in so doing, he created a cultural phenomenon. Starbucks is changing what we eat and drink. It’s
shaping how we spend our time and money.

Starbucks has found a way to appeal to practically every customer demographic, as its customers
cover a broad base. It’s not just the affluent or the urban professionals and it’s not just the
intellectuals or the creative types who frequent Starbucks. You’ll find soccer moms, construction
workers, bank tellers, and office assistants at Starbucks. And despite the high price of its products,
customers pay it because they think it’s worth it. What they get for that price is some of the finest

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coffee available commercially, custom preparation, and, of course, that Starbucks ambiance—the
comfy chairs, the music, the aromas, the hissing steam from the espresso machine—all invoking
that warm feeling of community and connection that Schultz experienced on his first business trip
to Italy and knew instinctively could work elsewhere.

As the world’s number one specialty coffee retailer, Starbucks’ portfolio includes goods and
services under its flagship Starbucks brand and the Teavana, Tazo Tea, Seattle’s Best Coffee,
Starbucks VIA, Starbucks Refreshers, Evolution Fresh, La Boulange, and Verismo brands. Recent
product introductions include a Cherry Blossom Frappuccino®, a single-origin coffee from
Indonesia, and a Chocolate Cookie Dough Cake Pop.

Here’s something you might be surprised at. You can expect to get carded at your neighborhood
Starbucks soon. What? Starbucks is making a more intentional move into wine and beer sales. The
company tested the concept at a single Seattle store in 2010 and now offers alcohol at 26 locations,
where store sales have shown a significant increase during the time of day when alcohol is offered.
The “Starbucks’ Evenings” concept offers selected adult beverages (beer and wine...tailored to
regional taste preferences) and an expanded food menu after 4 p.m. So, the plan is to roll out
Starbucks’ Evenings to thousands of stores over the next several years.

Starbucks’ loyalty program continues to distinguish it from competitors, and it is an integral part
of the company’s growth strategy. Its My Starbucks Rewards™ has almost 12 million active
members with more than $4 billion loaded onto the cards. And the company has made a huge
investment in mobile payments, accounting for more than four million transactions every week in
the United States. Its Starbucks Card apps for Android phones and iPhones have been hugely
popular. The company also announced enhancements to its loyalty program by offering a new
prepaid Starbucks Card. Cardholders can use the card anywhere Visa cards are accepted, and earn
two “stars” for every dollar spent, which they can redeem for beverage or food items at any
Starbucks store. In addition to building customer loyalty, the company states that expanding the
program “is just the beginning of Starbucks opening up its digital ecosystem as well as extending
its payment platform.”

Starbucks’ primary competition comes from quickservice restaurants and specialty coffee shops.
McDonalds, for one, has invested heavily in its McCafé concept, which offers coffee, real fruit

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smoothies, shakes, and frappés. And there are numerous specialty coffee shops, but most of these
tend to be in local markets only.

Discussion Questions

1. Make a list of Starbucks’ goals. Describe what type of goal each is. Then, describe how
that stated goal might affect how the following employees do their job: (a) a part-time store
employee—a barista—in Omaha; (b) a quality assurance technician at the company’s
roasting plant in Amsterdam; (c) a regional sales manager; (d) the executive vice president
of global supply chain operations; and (e) the CEO.
2. Discuss the types of growth strategies that Starbucks has used. Be specific.
3. What competitive advantages do you think Starbucks has? What will it have to do to
maintain those advantages?
4. Do you think the Starbucks brand can become too saturated—that is, extended to too many
different products? Why or why not?
5. What companies might be good benchmarks for Starbucks? Why? What companies might
want to benchmark Starbucks? Why?
6. Describe how the following Starbucks managers might use forecasting, budgeting, and
scheduling (be specific): (a) a retail store manager; (b) a regional marketing manager; (c)
the manager for global development; and (d) the CEO.
7. Describe Howard Schultz as a strategic leader.
8. Is Starbucks “living” its mission? (You can find the company mission on its website at
www.starbucks.com.) Discuss.

Notes for the Case

Information from Starbucks Corporation 2015 Annual Report, www.investor.starbucks.com, April 2016;
J. Jargon, “Starbucks to Expand Customer Rewards Program Beyond Its Coffee Shops,” The Wall Street
Journal online, www.wsj.com, March 23, 2016; A. Medhani, “‘Evenings’ at Starbucks: Coffee Shop to Sell
Wine, Craft Beer, Small Plates,” USA Today online, www.usatoday.com, August 18, 2015; L. Burkitt,
“Starbucks to Add Thousands of Stores in China,” The Wall Street Journal online, www.wsj.com, January
12, 2016; L. Patton, “Starbucks Plans to Open Biggest Store in Its History in New York,” The Wall Street
Journal online, www.wsj.com, April 6, 2016; R. Dooley, “Will Starbucks Alcohol ‘Infect’ Other Products?”

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www.forbes.com, April 9, 2014; V. Wong, “What to Expect from Starbucks’ New Booze Menu,”
www.businessweek.com, March 20, 2014; C. Cain Miller, “Starbucks and Square to Team Up,” New York
Times online, www.nytimes.com, August 8, 2012; R. Ahmed, “Tata Setting Up Starbucks Coffee Roasting
Facility,” www.online.wsj.com, July 26, 2012; B. Horovitz, “Starbucks Rolling Out Pop with Pep,” USA
Today, March 22, 2012, p. 1B; Starbucks News Release, “Starbucks Spotlights Connection Between
Record Performance, Shareholder Value, and Company Values at Annual Meeting of Shareholders,”
news.starbucks.com, March 21, 2012; D. A. Kaplan, “Strong Coffee,” Fortune, December 12, 2011, pp.
100–116; J. A. Cooke, Editor, “From Bean to Cup How Starbucks Transformed Its Supply Chain,” www.
supplychainquarterly.com, Quarter 4, 2010; R. Ruggless, “Starbucks Exec: Security from Employee Theft
Important When Implementing Gift Card Strategies,” Nation’s Restaurant News, December 12, 2005, p.
24; and R. Ruggless, “Transaction Monitoring Boosts Safety, Perks Up Coffee Chain Profits,” Nation’s
Restaurant News, November 28, 2005, p. 35. 1 L. Patton, “Starbucks Plans to Open Biggest Store in Its
History in New York,” The Wall Street Journal online, www.wsj.com, April 6, 2016.