Bus 367 - Starbucks - Necessities of International Marketing and Culture

Case Study - Starbucks

Ankit Shrestha

Westcliff University

BUS 367 Necessities of International Marketing and Culture

Professor Ninh

23/7/2017

Abstract

In this paper, be doing a case study of Starbucks and answering the questions asked. These questions include identifying the controllable and uncontrollable elements which was faced by Starbucks. Along with that we also have to look at the major risk the company can face and finally how Starbucks can improve their profits in Japan.

1. Identify the controllable and uncontrollable elements that Starbucks has encountered in entering global markets.

        In my perspective, the factors that are controllable by Starbucks while entering the Global Market are as same as the ones they had in their domestic market. Products, price, place and promotion, the 4 P’s are the ones which can be controlled by the Starbucks. In the factor of product, Starbucks is known globally by millions of consumers around the world as they are able to blend the taste according to the place and culture. The price is what they want to be in the available places. The place and promotion depends on how the product is marketed.

        As shown in company’s site, they manage their status in the market by choosing their partners who have the same ambition as them, the ones who share the same value and commitment.

        As there are controllable elements, there are uncontrollable elements as well. There are such as the natural events. A natural event can cause a loss to the company, both directly and indirectly. For example, due to some natural disaster, the company might end up having escalation in cost prices for manufacturing of coffee resulting in the price increment for the consumer as well. Talking about price there might also come up a condition when the people of a particular region have a major loss in their finance due to national situation. Or there might be an up and down in the currency rate. Besides all these there might also be restriction laid down by the government for the company affecting the operations of Starbucks.

1. What are the major sources of risk facing the company? Discuss potential solutions.

         In my sight, the major sources of risks for the company are:

• Saturating the Market

Any company trying to grow which is saturating the market is in a big risk. When Starbucks came to understanding that they are starting to saturate the US market, that’s when they took a step towards globalization. For this risk, they could focus on reducing the employee disruption for better quality of service and coffee.

• Competition

No matter which company, they all need to face competition, be lower or higher. While moving towards globalization, the companies aren’t that good in the process of completing the analysis. Starbucks had to face a lot of competition as they were new in the field of globalization and the competition they had were already well established in the market. In this case they could prepare the product according to the need of the customers. They can also change their plan of pricing to win the competition.