Mature Premium Coffee Market Issues - Essay Example

Costa Coffee (Business Strategy) 19 July EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report covers the mature premium coffee market and includes an analysis of the present external environment, generic business strategies currently pursued by major players, various tools used for analysis in formulation of the right business strategy to pursue, a review of strategic alternatives and the issues connected with implementation of a chosen strategic approach. Costa Coffee is the focus of this report by analyzing its competitive advantages, the options open to it on how to generate new revenues in a maturing market like diversification and a global brand management strategy. This is to ensure it will acquire brand recognition as a true global brand like giant Starbucks but at the same time maintain its brand essence in a highly-competitive premium coffee market that no longer relies on price or differentiation as key success factors. Key industry drivers like the 4 Ms are briefly mentioned in relation to the coffee industry. Management theories and models like the Boston Consulting Group’s market matrix, Gap-needs Analysis and Ansoff’s product-market model are utilized to illustrate some of the key concepts in strategy analysis and formulation. Based on the last model by Ansoff, market development, product development and increased market penetration were thought to be viable alternatives. However, a closer analysis would reveal a branding strategy is the most suitable for a brand like Costa Coffee that is situated in a mature market dominated by only a few big players. This is because a brand is not only a functional concept but also an emotional one with regards to coffee drinkers, who not just drink it but to experience the ambiance as a symbol of affluence, social identity and new lifestyle patterns (Elliott & Percy, 2007:25). Table of Contents  Section Page No. 1. Executive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3. Business Level Generic Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 4. Business Strategy Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 5. Alternative Business Strategy Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 5.1. Branding Strategy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 5.2. Product Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 5.3. Increased Market Penetration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 5.4. Market Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 6. Merits of Selected Strategic Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 6.1. Feasibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 6.2. Suitability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 6.3. Acceptability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 7. Key Issues During Its Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 7.1. Change Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 7.2. Change Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 7.3. Change in Organisational Structure and Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 8. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 9. Recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 10. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14-16 Introduction There are three coffee house chains competing for preeminence in London and all over the United Kingdom and these are Starbucks, Caffé Nero and Costa Coffee. There is a smaller Coffee Republic and there are other coffee houses which are not part of a franchise (Edward, Cortinovis, Eggleton, Lee & Hermitage, 2007:110). After several years of very fast growth, the so-called premium coffee market is now in its mature stages. This means new sources of revenue growth has to be found before market share stagnates. A company has to be proactive rather than reactive and there are three possible sources of growth assuming it is alert enough: new opportunities presented by the changing external environment, develop a new strategy by monitoring emerging trends and how consumers react to these emerging new trends. The old view of consumers as merely reactive is now no longer valid and todays marketing paradigm understands that consumers often can dictate company policies (Moschis, 1994:173). This brief report covers the business strategy pursued by Costa Coffee in its efforts to maintain and expand its market share in a highly competitive mature premium coffee market. The report includes an evaluation of its generic strategy and the competitive environment, the firms strengths and weakness through a SWOT analysis. Further, key industry drivers are also identified to help in the formulation of a corporate strategy that will result into a longer-term competitive advantage. Costa Coffee had opened its 1000th store just last year and is poised to open some more through its franchising program. Originally founded by the Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, the chain is the largest home-grown coffee franchise in the U.K. It is now operating in 28 foreign countries and looking for untapped markets for its expansion. The company had recently acquired Coffee Heaven this year, adding another 79 outlets to it. Chief competitor Starbucks was also established in 1971 but achieved a more remarkable growth by having 17,000 outlets in about 50 countries. The strategy of Costa Coffee in entering markets is through a joint venture to leverage its partners knowledge of local culture and customers. Discussion 3. Business Level Generic Strategies Being of Italian origin, Costa Coffee tries its best to impart an Italian ambiance in all its outlets. This is why cup sizes are termed as primo (small), medio (medium) and massivo (large). However, the key success factors for any coffee chain is how authentic the taste of its coffee is. In this regard, there are the so-called four Ms which are macinazione (the grinding), miscela (the right blend), macchina (the espresso machine) and mano (skilled hand of barista). Besides emphasizing its Italian atmosphere by using Italian words, the company now embarks on a franchising binge which requires a potential franchisee to have the wherewithal to open a minimum of five outlets within a certain geographic area. This company policy is a strategy of saturation since that is how coffee chains operate in the market by inundating areas with several outlets located close to each other, sometimes even in very close proximity. Costa Coffee requires its franchisees to open a cluster of five outlets at the minimum to maximize its operational efficiencies and synergies to give the owner faster return on invested capital and to optimize the training of all store personnel especially the baristas at its roastery. Costa Coffee always tries to differentiate itself through its peculiar aroma and taste. In a successful blind taste test it commissioned, it was found out that 7 out of 10 Brits prefer its cappuccino over that of Starbucks and Caffé Nero. This survey found out regional areas in Great Britain has specific taste preferences like texture and flavour (Costa, 2009:1). It is trying to utilize this knowledge to its own advantage by developing new flavours which are specific to certain areas like the Scots who prefer thick, rich and creamy flavours while the people from the north-east prefer tastes which impact at the tip of the tongue instead. The firm is embarking on an international expansion because the domestic market is already saturated. The four coffee chains alone combine already for a 60% market share and competition is only getting stiffer but they had come a long way since the early coffee taverns (Clayton, 2003:12). 4. Business Strategy Analysis The company tries its best to differentiate itself by emphasizing its Italian origins and claiming its coffee is the best tasting through a blind taste test surveying 13,000 participants. A related development is its reinvigorated foray into foreign markets to spur revenue growth. It will award master franchisees to those who can demonstrate a clear business plan based on its standards with emphasis on operational dynamics, local market knowledge, local property markets and winning customer loyalty. The UK domestic market is pretty much saturated such that it awards franchises to only two remaining areas – Wales and the South West regions. The company has looked into developing countries like China and India (Rediff, 2004:1). Costa Coffee can be considered to be in a mature market with growth of less than 10% annually based on conservative estimates. The BCG matrix model identifies the market Costa Coffee is in as a cash cow, characterised by a high market share (oligopolistic with 4 players). This market offers low growth (near saturation point) but exceptional profits and the cash it is generating can be used to explore new markets and engage in new product development. This is exactly what Costa Coffee is doing by offering seasonal cold drinks such as the Iced Vanilla Latte which is the mocha Italian coffee blend served on ice. Other offerings which are usually served during the summer months are fruit drinks like mango, red berries and passion fruit. It offers light lunches like pasta twirls, roast chicken and vegetable salads (Costa, 2010:1). The BCG matrix is shown below to illustrate the case of Costa Coffee in the industry: Fig. 1: Boston Consulting Group (Campbell, Stonehouse & Houston, 2002:108). Relative Market Shares Relative Market Growth High Market Share Low Market Share (high growth) STARS QUESTION MARKS (low growth) CASH COWS DOGS 5. Alternative Business Strategy Development Costa Coffee relies on its brand recall as a strategic asset and its vast experience in the franchising business to expand into new markets in foreign countries. What it is pursuing at the moment in terms of maintaining market share and expanding its revenues is largely a very generic strategy which does not greatly consider its core competencies. In other words, what it must do is leverage its premium coffee brand into a unique experience for its customers and by doing so, achieve its purpose of becoming a truly global brand (de Wit & Meyer, 2005:26). It must clearly state what its corporate mission and vision is and then align this with its strategy formulated using insightful analysis, hard logic, innovation and creativity to unleash its brand’s full potential to gain long-lasting competitive advantage (Ulwick, 2000:17). In a mature industry, it is imperative to undertake change initiatives to sustain the momentum in its growth and this can be achieved through a variety of measures. In particular, one move that is assured of high success is diversification (Betz, 2002:93). The company must first implement pre-planning in its strategy formulation in order to get a comprehensive view of its strengths and weakness through a process known as strategic corporate profiling (Sherman, Rowley & Armandi, 2007:163). Once this is completed, it can then match its internal advantages by developing the appropriate marketing strategy. This is in pursuance of its efforts to get out of the shadow of the more well-known Starbucks brand. To achieve this objective, there must be full congruence between its strengths and the strategy it will ultimately develop and pursue. In this regard, it can do a Gap analysis which is quite simple to do and very intuitive (Karlof, 1993:162). It is also known as the needs analysis because it looks at the present performance of the business organization and then tries to see how it can be improved. The needs so identified are actually the expected or projected targets such as market share, revenue growth, profitability or any other critical performance measure and then the present performance levels are subtracted from it, resulting in a gap or gaps. Fig. 2: Examples of Gap Analysis with Regards to Strategic Direction for the Firm Type of Analysis Present Situation Projected Situation Identified Gap Product Usages Current Market Usage Potential of Market Product Usage Gaps Product Portfolio Current Product Offers New Product Offers Product Gaps Competitive Gaps Price and Promotions Full Market Potential Performance Gaps After completion of this Gap analysis, Costa Coffee can choose to further refine its marketing strategy by doing the so-called product-market matrix framework to give it more insights useful to crafting an eventual corporate strategy. This is otherwise known as the Igor Ansoff model developed and conceptualized by him and as shown below: Fig. 3: Ansoff Product-Market Matrix (Campbell, Stonehouse & Houston, 2002:175) Existing Products New Products Existing Markets Increase market penetration Introduce newer products New Markets Enter new markets with the same existing product line Diversification either partial or total (new product/market) As we can glean from the performance of Costa Coffee versus its main competitor which is Starbucks, it is lagging behind and needs to adopt a more vigorous competitive line to stay in contention in a maturing premium coffee market. Based from the above table shown in Figure 3, Costa Coffee is left with two options: enter new markets with the same products or diversification (partial only by entering new markets such as India and China through its avowed international expansion into new underserved countries). Entering new markets is known as market development while a third option is also available to it which is product development (serving existing markets with new products such as its summer offerings). However, another strategy that is more potent and worth pursuing is branding strategy. 5.1. Branding Strategy Costa Coffee can still find growth in supposedly no-growth mature domestic markets by developing its brand name more fully. By this, it has to invest in its existing customer base by getting closer to them. In most mature markets, consumers have their present needs already amply fulfilled, they become price sensitive and have available considerable options to choose from numerous competitors (Kapferer, 2008:219). Costa Coffee can do this by adopting a two pronged strategy: one short term and the second for the longer term. The shorter term entails things like investing in information technology such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to handle business analytics such as customer relationship management (CRM) and database management (DBM) to embark on relationship marketing. It has partially done this already through its membership club called the Coffee Club to encourage repeat purchases by earning points which can be used to pay for drinks and other orders at the outlet. Costa Coffee can likewise try to attract new customers through this Coffee Club but this is a more costly undertaking (more expensive to entice new customers through ads and marketing promotions) than just taking care of existing customers. To do this successfully, the firm should utilize its findings from the taste test and surveys to develop new flavours to let existing clients enjoy their drinking and dining experience with Costa Coffee. It must develop new concoctions besides its basic mocha latte to attract new customer segments. Its research can be directed to look at some untapped needs of its existing clientele through innovations. An offshoot of its saturation strategy is to embark on a massive advertising campaign. Mass marketing will dovetail with its efforts to enhance its brand management by making the wider populace aware of its brand for Italian premium coffee. This will also allow it to escape severe price competition (Mourdoukoutas, 2006:40) common in a matured market like coffee. The short term approach can include inducing existing clients to shift to a pattern of higher consumption or greater purchases from low-volume usage of its product offerings. Brand management is really the permanent pursuit of growth regardless of its markets. This is the same case with Nestlé some years ago when it achieved number one ranking in its product segments or categories. The challenge back in 1997 was how to sustain growth in the mature markets it served. Costa Coffee can take a cue from this Swiss food giant by doing what it did years ago to achieve growth in a mature market which are investing heavily in its marketing campaign and strengthen its R & D capability to increase innovative capacity. In other words, Costa Coffee can generate its internal growth like Nestlé (Raisch, 2009:262). To do this successfully, the firm needs to examine its core competencies which are the set of skills acquired by it as a learning organization. This skills set is hard for competitors to copy such as distinctive service, a unique customer experience or production technique. In the case of Costa Coffee, all these things are already inherent in the organization itself. What it needs to do is to identify these core competencies so it can be exploited for its expansion. The firm, for example, has a uniquely Italian feel to its outlets, starting with use of Italian terms down to the special brew of its coffee which is Italian and also its brand name. It can then craft a competence-based corporate strategy which is hard to follow (Drejer, 2002:77). It is something that is unique and cannot be imitated by any competitor. Costa Coffee will then need to examine its dynamic capabilities. This is the specific ability of an organization to quickly transform itself to meet changing external realities. In the case of Costa Coffee, that changed reality is the mature coffee market. To survive in this new environment, it must be adaptive in terms of innovation and creativity (Helfat, Finkelstein & Mitchell, 2007:5). In a nutshell, dynamic capabilities refer to any firm’s ability to quickly reconfigure when needed and represents the fusion of core competencies (internal) to fit with the business environment (external). Costa Coffee can exploit its dynamic capabilities in regards to its franchising operations where it has the advantage of economies of scale. This is the reason why it requires potential franchisees to be ready to operate a minimum of 5 stores. 5.2. Product Development Based from the Ansoff theoretical model, it is very viable for Costa Coffee to embark on new product development. It can use the insights from the taste tests as valuable inputs to craft regional flavours based on what the surveys had found out. This way, it will soon gain a competitive advantage because the firm will have acted in a local manner (through its flavour) but at the same time maintain a global outlook (think global but act local). Among the many possibilities it can pursue would be to use local ingredients in its expanded value meal menus and cook them the way the locals would want it to their taste preferences. This approach had been found effective in many countries where some global food giants were beaten by locals such as Jollibee in the Philippines where McDonald’s is just number two (Wilk, 2006:156). A key success factor for this type of endeavour is understanding food as part of local cultures. 5.3. Increased Market Penetration There are still underserved areas both within the United Kingdom and internationally. It is still possible to put newer outlets even besides existing ones because each store is quite easy to operate and has relatively low overhead costs. Personnel requirements are minimal, needing only a certified barista and a cashier, probably with one waiter or waitress. Most of the outlets can be made self service so staffing will be reduced to the barest minimum. 5.4 Market Development On the other hand, going to overseas markets has its hazards, chief among it is being hostage at the mercy of a local partner. Costa Coffee entered in a joint-venture partnership with the Yueda Group because it lacks the understanding of local culture, the language and preferences of potential local customers. This strategic alliance is resorted to because Costa Coffee would find it difficult to go alone in a strange market like China but this agreement has a heavy price to it because it depends heavily on its partner (Roll, 2010:1). The company had originally planned to open around 300 stores in China (Allen, 2006:1) after opening in India. 6. Merits of Selected Strategic Option Judging from its past and present performance so far, Costa Coffee cannot realistically embark on a product or service differentiation strategy. It had tried this tack but without much apparent success as it is not perceived to be anything different from Starbucks or any other competing coffee chain. It also cannot be a low-cost producer because this will negate its image as a premium brand. It is left with the option of becoming a focused competitor and this is what it will have to do. This entails strategic change that will maximize and leverage its strong brand recognition as a uniquely Italian and distinctive premium coffee provider. 6.1. Feasibility – Costa Coffee can viably engage as a focused competitor but not on price or differentiation but instead on building up its brand name. It is as old as Starbucks (1971) but has not acquired a cachet to its brand because of a lack of emphasis on branding. Brand management is the best approach when in a mature industry. Brand image is important and closely related to a holistic approach to marketing which involves relationship marketing, internal marketing, social marketing and integrated marketing (Kotler et al., 2006:16). 6.2. Suitability – there are two overriding paradigms in brand management which are the positivistic point (brand equity is created by the marketer) and the interpretive paradigm that states a brand’s nature and value is the result of an interaction between the brand’s owner and an active consumer (Heding, Knudtzen & Bjerre, 2009:21). Costa Coffee can reinforce this image, for example, in its China market as a European coffee outlet with an Italian aura. The reason coffee lovers go outside the house just to drink premium coffee is the experience. The firm had set its eyes on two big developing nations like China and India which are incidentally also tea-drinking countries. However, a good branding strategy will position the company to take advantage of changing lifestyles brought about by increased affluence due to an export-led economic boom. There is an established coffee culture in China but the trend is to drink it outside the home; the firm just had its second joint venture (Staff, 2008:1). 6.3 Acceptability – this chosen approach is also consistent with diversification in which the company enters new markets with new products. For example, it needs to carefully tread its way around the China market because it is very huge with several distinct regions. It can customize its products by doing a taste test similar to the one done in UK but still it has to maintain the basic offerings such as the cappuccino, latte and the unique Italian ambiance. 7. Key Issues during Its Implementation – three key concerns that should be addressed by Costa Coffee when it undertakes a branding strategy to further enhance its global image. 7.1 Change Management – the company has to manage its strategic change of having the brand marketed more forcefully, especially in the new foreign markets it had just entered. All employees must be trained and steeped in the new brand management culture that focuses on excellent service, perceived value for extra money paid for a premium coffee brand and the overall emphasis of drinking coffee with a European origin but with an Italian blend. 7.2 Change Leadership – corporate headquarters must take the lead in implementing this new strategic direction by asking for the buy-in and cooperation of all its employees. This can be done by coming up with a certain catchy slogan that will capture its Italian image in a very succinct way which will connect with both employees and potential customers. To lessen the initial resistance, top management can employ the principles of continuous improvement that is also known as kaizen (Japanese term for change for the better). Changes can be gradual in this regard but it becomes cumulative in the long run to include areas like sales, inventory management, customer service and logistics (like a time limit for each order to be served). 7.3 Change in Organisational Structure and Culture – the company must activate and utilize its dynamic capabilities to accommodate strategic change. Organisational flexibility is necessary to re-engineer itself quickly to respond to an increasingly mature coffee market that can no longer compete on price factors alone or on a differentiation strategy which became an increasingly common tactic among premium coffee chains. Strategy and size must also fit. Conclusion A company that operates in a competitive but mature market needs to re-examine itself and find its corporate profile to be able to come up with the right business strategy. It can use a variety of management tools for this exercise such as SWOT analysis, Gap analysis, Ansoff product-market matrix and the BCG market growth model. At any rate, what is important is to find the right balance between internal dynamic capabilities and core competencies that will be a good match to opportunities in the external environments that will fund new growth. In the case of Costa Coffee, it can pursue various alternatives such as the usual diversification or market development or product development. However, these do not seem enough because the coffee market is a mature market that is increasingly becoming price sensitive and now is slowly turning impervious to differentiation strategies. The key challenge for Costa Coffee is to re-invigorate its own illustrious brand name and get out of the shadow of a giant global competitor which is Starbucks of the United States of America. Recommendation Costa Coffee is best suited, based on its corporate personality, to pursue a branding strategy both in its domestic and international operations. This new strategy is in line with its new thrusts of granting additional franchisees and entering into joint-venture partnerships with the leading companies in service industries in other countries. The new branding tack is to be pursued in consonance with changing its organisational culture that will now emphasize service excellence, value for money and a unique Italian ambiance in all its outlets. Change management is a key issue here and a successful implementation will require change leaders who will champion this new strategic direction by building up momentum and instilling in the workforce a sense of urgency (Kotter, 1996:36). It needs to clarify its brand identity as Italian premium blend. 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