Starbucks To Japan example essay topic

1. Starbucks Corporation's rise seems to be out of a storybook for Howard Schultz. Starbucks began selling whole bean coffee in 1971 under Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siege, and Gordon Bowker. Business grew at a slow and steady pace until Schulz joined the company as manager of retail sales and marketing. After a visit to Milan, Italy, Schultz was inspired by a vision.

He saw how important coffee was to the romantic culture of Italy. He believed that if Americans had such places to socialize over a cup of coffee, espresso, cappuccino, etc., that they would pay good money for his quality product. The owners of the Starbucks Corporation were not as excited and did not want to operate in the restaurant business. Schultz filmed these coffee bars and began to pitch his ideas to investors. By April of 1985, his first coffee bar had opened and by 1987 he had bought the Starbucks name. Although the first few years of the company were less than profitable, Schultz looked at the long-term opportunities and never let his idea die.

Within a few years sales shot up 84%. This left room for expansion. By 1995 there were almost 200 stores opened across the U.S. and Starbucks was already looking international at this point and began operations to look to Asia. Starbucks now has opened bars all over the world and is one of the most successful businesses in the world.

2. The topics we have been looking at include the external environments of businesses and deciding on what a company is to do in the future to adjust to these environments to succeed. This summary speaks of how Starbucks wants to turn their company loose on the international coffee bar scene. Upon looking at whether or not they should, they must focus on the trends that are developing in these countries. Together with Sa zaby (a company known for bringing goods to Japan), Starbucks was able to combine the lifestyles of the Japanese people with the Starbucks product. One important favorable trend that was key in the development of bringing Starbucks to Japan rather than Europe and South America was the fact that Japan has been the third largest coffee consumer in the world and the other regions were more of a risk for Schultz.

There are, however, unfavorable trends in bringing Starbucks over such as the fact that the Japanese have not developed the taste for espresso or caffe latte drinks, but they rather prefer instant and ready-to-drink coffee that is offered in vending machines owned by Coca-Cola, which is a highly respected American company in Japan. Another unfavorable trend is the fact that since 1982 there has been a 30% decrease in coffee bars. 3. Over 3 years, this percentage has decreased and increased most likely due to the international expansion. It may seem like an unfavorable trend, but in this companies case, it is favorable due to their past success. 1996 1995 1994 Ratio 2: Total Debt to Tot.

Assets 167,980/726,613 81,733/468,178 80,500/231, 42123.1% 17.4% 34.8%This number had a dramatic decrease from 94 to 95, but once again increased in it's final year, again, due to expansion, and I believe with the past trends, a lesser ratio is inevitable after the new bars are up and running. Ratio 3: Return on Equity 42,168/451,660 26,102/312,231 10,206/109,898 9.3% 8.4% 9.3%Starbucks has become a huge company and this statement shows an increase in recent years, and with the type of heart and enthusiasm that Schultz puts into this company, there is nowhere for this company to go but up. Many believe that this market is saturated with gourmet coffee shops, but there is an entire world to be taken over and Schultz seems to be the type of person to take advantage of that. 4. An article that relates to what this paper discusses is one from a paper in Hong Kong. Howard Schultz is as excited about Starbucks today as he was many years ago when he opened his first store in Seattle.

His attitude towards his company and employees shows the type of leader he is and this is why he is so successful. The article states that Schultz has opened stores in Seoul, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, which is placed in one of the most prestigious shopping districts in Lucan. Schultz was even there himself to witness these openings and welcome these cities to the Starbucks family. The store in Seoul is the largest reaching five stories in height being the fourth in the city since July of 1999. The excitement of Schultz shows how he has not lost sight of the goals of Starbucks and has not settled even for the success he currently has, 'I have never been more enthusiastic about the tremendous growth opportunities for Starbucks worldwide. ' (Sum, May 2, 2000) Since Starbucks broke ground in Tokyo in 1996, there has been as many as 350 stores built in a market that was said to be saturated and in a country that, at the time of the first Starbucks, leaned toward the instant and ready-made coffee.

Starbucks shows no sign of slowing down as Hong Kong is now it's fifteenth international market. The type of manager that Schultz is provides the opportunity for growth as his attitude is spread to other managers. His number one strategy in this business is his love for his product and that is what gives him his edge to overcome the doubters and skeptics in this business.