Back to the Grind for Starbucks
Starbucks, whose stock is flagging as McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts sip away at its business, is announcing today at its annual meeting that it will freshly grind beans in-store for its brewed coffee. The move is only one of several intended to lure customers back into the store (80 percent of orders at the chain are to-go). Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says there may be a customer loyalty card, premium cups from Clover machines, and remodeling in the works.
Starbucks, of course, is largely a victim of its own success. After heightening the country's coffee consciousness, it created a market ripe for other high-end shops to move into for fancy coffee drinks—and for McDonald's and Dunkin' to move into with improved premium-blend drip coffees. That leaves Starbucks in the position of boosting its identity as a "third place," somewhere other than work and home that people can hang out in. Whether this is possible, even with the moves being made, will have to be seen.
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