The Future of Starbucks’ Market Share
The two video articles under discussion, ABC’s Nightline segment on McDonald’s, Starbucks Coffee Wars, and CNNMoney. com’s High-end Starbucks Brew, both delved on the on-going corporate struggles being experienced by Starbucks, particularly in their fight to either maintain or regain their market share. While several figures regarding McDonald’s were presented, its main purpose was solely for comparison from Starbucks’ marketing viewpoint, thus effecting to enhance the claims offered by the producers of these segments—that we are now witnessing the transformation of one of the largest coffee retailers in America and the world.
ABC’s segment presented its claim that Starbucks and McDonald’s are now locking horns in winning the loyalty of their respective patrons, particularly the American coffee lovers. Here, evidences of their competition are presented by filming branches of these two corporations that are adjacent to each other; each with colorful and eye-catching advertisements that aim to attract costumers. Likewise, while reports on costumer surveys that stated McDonald’s as having overtaken Starbucks as the nation’s number one coffee retailer, in terms of costumer satisfaction, it nevertheless leaves the conclusion to its viewers.
This can be evidenced by the President of Seattle Barista Academy, Robert Burgess, when he stated, “I don’t know…McDonald’s is a huge presence, Starbucks is gigantic. We’re just gonna have to see” (ABC Nightline, 2007). While ABC’s segment centered on the brewing competition between Starbucks and McDonald’s, CNNMoney. com’s report delved almost exclusively on the marketing and product strategies that are being undertaken by Starbucks.
Evidences such as the company’s mass closure of hundreds of stores and its 2008 acquisition of the company that manufactures the Clover coffee machine serves to emphasize on this reality. Moreover, as can be based on the segment’s title itself, High-end Starbucks Brew, it truly seems that their main focus is presently aimed in the quality of their products. Cliff Burrows, the President of Starbucks n the United States, has been clear in his perception, “Over the past 12 months we have really moved our focus from growing rapidly to really focusing on our core.
And coffee is our core” (High-end, 2010). Perception Whatever the outcome of this corporate competition will result to, perhaps it is safe to assume that these two giant conglomerates, McDonald’s and Starbucks, will continue with their dominance in their respective fields of market shares. It will be irrelevant if they were to hold the first or the second best-selling brand in coffee retailing, as their sales in the United States alone will prove to be more than sufficient to buoy their revenues from bankruptcy.
However, based on the arguments presented in the two video articles, it seems that Starbucks will find it very difficult to dislodge McDonald’s from its number one position, especially since the very number of McDonald’s stores makes it more accessible to the buying public, particularly the coffee lovers. Starbucks’ opting to concentrate more on the quality of their coffee, which quite naturally causes its prices to be a bit higher, seems like an admission to the reality that catching up with McDonald’s in terms of number of sales will be a tall order to accomplish.
Perhaps with the acquisition of the Clover machines, Starbucks intends to maintain a solid base of patrons who, despite of their lesser number of stores, will choose their brands over all other competitions based on quality alone. If this is the case, then Starbucks should succeed in maintaining their solid spot as one of the best coffees in the market. Hence, we should be able to witness how individually these corporations will continue to thrive despite of the economic crunch.
The corporate image transformation that is being undertaken by Starbucks ought to be a successful one; in that it will be able to fully evolve from a quantity-focused entity into a corporation that serves the needs of the meticulous market. References ABC Nightline on McDonald’s, Starbucks Coffee Wars. (2007, March 22). Youtube. com. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from <http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=-oOqM98Ga34> High-end Starbucks Brew. (2010) CNNMoney. com. Retrieved July 17, 2010, from <http://money. cnn. com/video/technology/2009/06/03/fortune. techtrans. starbucks. fortune/>
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