Bus 402 Swot Analysis

Starbucks SWOT Analysis

Jonathan Shanbarger

BUS402: Strategic Management & Business Policy

Karen Pence

Feb 18, 2013

Starbucks SWOT Analysis

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last twenty years; it is a near impossibility that you have not at least heard mention of the coffee industry giant, Starbucks. This company seemed to come out of nowhere in my experience. I remember seeing one here or there when travelling and then seemingly overnight we had two in my small town. As an avid coffee drinker I appreciate the quality of the products Starbucks purveys, but is having a good product alone good enough to experience the growth that they have over the years? No. There must be a level of vision and planning present to accomplish such impressive goals. Since 1981, Starbucks has transformed itself from a modest nine-store operation in the Pacific Northwest into a powerhouse multinational enterprise with 10,241 store locations, including some 2,900 stores in 30 foreign countries (Shah, 2006). So then what has been Starbucks recipe for success? Is it possible that the concept and the vision for expansion were all just products of dumb luck?

In the following we will address the components of this organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as their external opportunities and threats. We will also examine the alternatives to consider, and make an assessment of the quality of the decisions made and recommendations for improvement.

Starbucks got its start in 1971 when three academics, English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker—all coffee aficionados—opened Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice in touristy Pikes Place Market in Seattle (Shah, 2006). The initial strength of Starbucks at its inception was the intelligence and passion of the founders to create a product that was unrivaled. This passion was shared with the customers and Starbucks became not only a place to buy coffee but a place to...