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Starbucks: Failure Abroad

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Starbucks: Failure Abroad
Starbucks: Failure Abroad

Introduction
When one thinks of a global corporation, one thinks of a company who has got it together. They must right? How else could a corporation overcome transnational barriers and socio-cultural issues and still make a profit? Turns out not all global companies have this ability. Some do for the most part but are still vulnerable to mistakes. Such is the case with Starbuck’s failure in Australia. We will introduce you to the company, overview their history and expansion efforts, and explain in short why they failed miserably at something they have done literally thousands of times before.
General Information
Starbucks Coffee International, Inc. purchases, roasts, and sells whole bean coffees, brewed coffees, Italian-style espresso beverages, and cold blended beverages. The company markets its products through more than 15,000 stores in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia and the Pacific Rim among other regions. The company was founded and is based in Seattle, Washington. As of 2008 Starbucks operates in 44 countries. (Starbucks.com). Starbucks Coffee International operates as a subsidiary of Starbucks Coffee Company. Starbucks diversified its business. Starbucks now offfers compact discs, books and other life style products. In addition they have created several strategic alliances with food manufactures both domestic and Abroad. (www.starbucks.com)
Company History
In 1971 the first Starbucks store was opened in Seattle’s Pica Place Market by Jerry Baldwin, an English teacher, Zev Siegel, a history teacher and the writer Gordon Bowker (www.mhhe.com). In 1982 Howard Schultz joined the company as a director of retail operations and marketing. He saw potential in Starbucks and started to build up a coffee house culture in Seattle. In 1984 Starbucks enlarged its product mix, adding coffee specialities like different kinds of Café Lattes and espresso beverages. In 1985 Howard Schultz left the company and set up his own



Cited: Allison, M. (2008) Starbucks closing 73% of Australian stores. The Seattle Times [online]. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008079196_websbuxaustralia29.html [accessed 05/10/2008] CourierMail. Starbucks to close 61 coffee shops in Australia. (2008) http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24095176-3102,00.html Doherty, J. (29. September 2008). Retrieved October 6 2008. From Factiva http://global/factiva.com/aa/default.aspx?pp=Print&hc=Publication Emerson, D. and Tibbetts, A. (2008) Starbucks closes 61 shops, cuts 700 jobs. The Sydney Morning Herald [online] Francesco, A. And Gold, B. (2005) International Organizational Behavior. Pearson: New Jersey Gould, D. (July 2008). PSFK.com. Retrieved October 9 2008. http://www.psfk.com/2008/07/coffee-snobs-triumph-over-starbucks-in-australia.html Hoovers D and B. (2008) Starbucks http://premium.hoovers.com/subscribe/co/history.xhtml?ID=ffffrhkchrhhyjjrfk James, A. (2. July 2008). Starbucks Plans to Close 600 Stores Across U.S. ; 12,000 Employees Affected, But Company Hopes to Absorb Some Makoob Business (2008) Coffee culture grinds Starbucks Australian operation. [online]. http://business.maktoob.com/NewsDetails-20070423178307-Coffee_culture_grinds_Starbucks_Australian_operation.htm [accessed 05/10/2008] Mercer, P. (2008a) Australian coffee drinkers prefer quality over Starbucks’ quantity. The UAE National [online] Robertson, J. (29. July 2008). News.com.au. Retrieved October 11 2008. From Couriermail: http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24095176-3102,00.html Starbucks (2008) Announcement to Customers 29th July 2008. Available at: http://www.starbucks.com/australia/ [accessed 05/10/2008] Starbucks (2008) Company Timeline http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/Company_Timeline.pdf http://www.best-franchise-opportunity-insights.com/starbuckscoffeefranchise.html Starbucks (2008) Fact Sheet http://biz.yahoo.com/e/080208/sbux10-q.html Strategic Management (2008) Starbucks Background 1971-1987

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