Final and Strategic Plan- Starbuck's Global Quest 2006 - Case Study Example

Introduction In the modern world, coffee is one of the most popular refreshment beverages with nearly US$80 billion sales in retail every year. Starbucks is one of the largest coffee houses of the world, with 20,366 stores in 61 countries (Alvarado et al., 2007; Khattab et al., 2013). Starbucks started its venture in 1971 in Seattle Pike place with the objective of providing coffee with immense quality and taste. It was initiated by three academics Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel and Gordon Bowker.

Starbucks in later years was joined by Howard Schultz who led the marketing strategies to make it famous worldwide. In 1982, the company was taking a new outlook in its endeavor after Schultz visited Italy and saw a promising future for Starbucks in the coffee industry. He utilized the resources and the ability of Starbucks in providing quality beans for establishing a coffee bar named as II Giornalle. The concept of coffee bar was proving to be a successful endeavor for Starbucks. Due to the acceptance of Schultz’s strategies Starbucks gained importance in the market and it was highly appreciated by the people.

Through his strategic management skills and marketing skills, he purchased Starbucks in the year 1987 and renamed it as Starbuck Corporation. The coffee bar II Giornalle was renamed as Starbucks Corporation by Schultz as the brand was known by people and was readily acceptable. Schultz was by then the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company and was trying hard to implement strategies to expand the business and make outlets in various regions such as Chicago and Vancouver. In the 1990s, the company saw expansion by opening 676 stores and providing in-house music to make the people feel relaxed while enjoying the coffee.

Starbucks flourished worldwide by the year 2000 and is still strategizing to make the business more popular and financially sound (Shah et al., 2010). The present mission of the company is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (Starbucks Corporation, 2013). The company ranks 208th in the Fortune 500 list along with generating revenue of US$13,299.5 million (Cable News Network, 2013). The performance of the company experiences upsurge in the revenue but its profit earning is considerably low due to several factors such as competition from the rivals.

Thesis Statement The objective of the study is to evaluate the economic, marketing and the financial condition of Starbucks. The organizational structure and the issues faced by the company are evaluated. Correspondingly, a report entailing three-year strategic management proposal to Starbucks’ managing board of directors would be provided. Economic Assessment The economy of a country plays an important role in the success and failure of a business. The global turmoil in the economy in the recent past affected the business of various companies and also affected the strategies they implement.

The economic slowdown of various countries affected the consumer behavior pattern and hence affected the profit of the companies in the recent past years. With regard to Starbucks, the economic condition also affected the profitability and the market share of the company as the countries such as Greece and Spain which were like cash cow turned out to be question mark. This implies that the market share