It seemed like ages ago that
Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) founder and CEO
Howard Schultz
questioned the state of his own company's soul. (OK, it
was February 2007.) More than two years later, Starbucks'
soul seems to be in more danger than ever, despite Schultz's
return to the helm to
save the day.
Could Starbucks possibly do more to look like everyone
else? Ideas like
value pricingand
instant coffeesuggest that the java giant has gone the
way of bland
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) or instant coffee
providers like
Kraft 's (NYSE: KFT)'s Maxwell House or
JM Smucker 's (NYSE: SJM) Folgers. Whether
it's setting up coffee shops that
mimic mom-and-pop establishments or "
local washing" its product names, Starbucks seems less
like a cool "third place" to hang out, and more like just
another corporate monolith.
Starbucks once seemed ahead of the curve on
environmentalism, with a proposal for
sustainable storesthat could achieve coveted LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) status. Then
again,
Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI) already has
several LEED-certified stores, including its flagship
location, and 20 additional ones registered to be
certified.
Starbucks was supposed to be a gathering place, mindful of
communities and the world around it. It's championed many
positive causes, and provided employees with better benefits
than the usual coffee chain. Still, too many of the company's
recent ideas feel less like its old, soulful self, and more
like the bland devisings of marketers and bureaucrats.
If Starbucks becomes just another huge place to buy
coffee, I fear it'll lose competitive advantage against
rivals like
Caribou Coffee (Nasdaq: CBOU). Why go out for
a soulless cuppa joe when you could have a better and cheaper
experience at home with
Green Mountain 's (Nasdaq: GMCR) Keurig
brewers?
Starbucks' desperate, misguided efforts to regain its old
caffeinated growth could tarnish what made the company
special in the first place. In my opinion,
that's a huge risk for the company --
andfor the stock.
What do you think? Vote in the poll below, or discuss the
state of Starbucks' soul in the comment boxes below.
This article was originally published as
Has Starbucks Finally Pawned Its Soul?on
Fool.com
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