My mom didn’t drink coffee at all when I was young. She didn't like it. Then she tried Starbucks.
Now, kids, there was a time when the stars still outnumbered the Starbucks. To get her beloved beans, mom would pile us all in the minivan and drive to a city 45 minutes away. Then we would arrive at Barnes and Noble, a place that still exists today (unlike its inferior cousin, Borders.) At this place you could buy books—books printed on paper. You could also buy coffee.
But that was when Starbucks was just coffee—before it exploded into a status symbol and morphed into “an affordable luxury,” according to CEO Howard Schultz.
Even in the midst of a declining economy and rising coffee prices, Starbucks is having the most profitable year ever. And the metamorphosis isn’t complete. This article reveals that the company plans to expand locations internationally (because, really, where else can they go in the US?) Another big change is the company’s plans to shift from simply a coffee shop to . . . a grocery store? Yep, the company is going to continue develop their brand to break into one of the basically recession-proof markets.
A stellar example of not only embracing potentially negative change, but capitalizing on it.
Can I get a grande bravo?
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