It hardly makes sense on the surface that a business would resort to raising prices to see itself through a deep recession and weak consumer spending, but that is exactly what Starbucks plans to do. While several basic drinks may now be less expensive, Starbucks has already started raising prices on specialty drinks in several stores.
 
By the end of the year, the price adjustments should already be affecting Starbucks stores nationwide, placing Starbucks firmly in the difficult position of balancing its brand with its customers’ desires to save money. Competition from the likes of McDonald’s, which recently started selling espresso …read more

The ubiquitous coffee giant Starbucks has released its results for the third quarter, beating analysts’ expectations with a larger-than-expected profit. Starbucks has credited a decrease in the amount of money spent on labor, as well as the amount the company spends on dairy products, for the profit, which led to a rise in the value of Starbucks’ stock.
 
While analysts expected a profit worth 19 cents per share for Starbucks’ third quarter, the company posted earnings of 24 cents per share in a statement released today. Sales have declined to $2.4 billion, marking a 6.6 percent fall, but sales managed to …read more

Starbucks is a company that, unsurprisingly, is highly affects by the poor economy and slow job market. Their product is all about “excess,” and as consumers continue to tighten their spending, the morning lattes are one of the firs expenses to get crossed off the list. However, the company is trying to let consumers know that they can have value products as well, and that you don’t need to be rich to afford their products.
The company had an annual investors’ meeting in Seattle today, and the auditorium was packed with people wanting to know how the coffee company would survive …read more

Starbucks may be cutting back here in the US, but they’ve decided growth overseas may well be the answer. Unfortunately, profits overseas haven’t looked as good, but growth is king, right?
image from Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License