Good article from the New York Times.
Summary
Starbucks China is losing customers at a very rapid pace. Starbucks corporate executives are angry. Brian Niccol, the new $100 million CEO of Starbucks, sounded the alarm in October, calling the competition “extreme”. For the Chinese Lunar year, Starbucks released a pork flavor latte. It cost more than $9 and was widely seen as a disaster.
Billionaire Howard Schultz, Starbucks’s former CEO, insisted that Starbucks would not enter a price war in China. He claimed “as chinese customers become more knowledgeable about coffee, they will want to upgrade from lower-end or discounted products”
I should know this?
Exactly what I was thinking. Why should I give a shit that Starbucks is failing in China? I didn’t even know they were in China.
Right? Post this in news this isn’t a YSK, and the OP fails to explain WHY YSK
Billionaire Howard Schultz, Starbucks’s former CEO, insisted that Starbucks would not enter a price war in China. He claimed “as chinese customers become more knowledgeable about coffee, they will want to upgrade from lower-end or discounted products”
They got more knowledgeable about coffee which is precisely why they’re choosing places other than starbucks.
countries with good coffee are immune to Starbucks.
I know right? The absolute balls on the guy - anyone that’s had a Starbucks knows that it’s that shit that you move on from. It’s not far removed from a McDonald’s milk shake.
I’m hoping here (UK) and certainly continental Europe we see similar decline in their revenue, and other US companies that forget to pay tax
A pork latte sounds incredibly disgusting, what a stupid idea
cool, now I have to worry if coffee is hallal or not too
At that point I thought it was an Onion article.
“Chinese people like pork, right?! And they like coffee! See where I’m going with this?!!!”
Speak for yourself.
What is it, like broth savory, or some fake candy like flavor?
Well, of course. Putting geopolitics aside, Starbucks coffee is overpriced and not good. I wonder what the CEO who commutes via private jet to work will take away from this. Likely nothing.
So I used to think that people hated on starbucks because “hurr durr real men only drink black coffee” and starbucks had extremely sugary and milky drinks that had barely any actual coffee in it. “No problem” I thought, “I like sugary drinks!”. So I went to a starbucks at the shopping mall close to where I live and ordered something and it was literally just a glass of ice cubes with like three sips’ worth of milk and syrup squirted into it. It genuinely felt like the barista forgot one of the ingredients or something. I thought it was a fluke but when I was at that mall at a different time I got a different iced coffee and it was the same stuff: glass full of ice cubes with a squirtling of syrup and milk. What even is the point!?
Cuz it’s truly legitimately just bad coffee?
And somehow mcdonald’s is expected to be quality barbecue?
None of these chains are any good but we use (or used to use them) for convenience and consistency
Never excellence because we know all the excellent places get bought out and turned into corporate shit factories so we pick the least offensive shit factory that suits our lifestyles and just get on with the business of working in a world that is slowly burning down to feed the greed of a pathologically insatiable owner class
McDonald’s coffee is much better than Starbucks. Still not great, but better.
Beyond supporting local businesses, Starbucks’ coffee is just objectively poor quality in comparison to that of any local roster.
As someone who worked at a local roaster, the coffee was objectively better, but the owners were trying really hard to be like Starbucks in every other way.
I wish the employees had a union, but it was a college town.
Your neighbors pay your salary. The more money in your community the more there will be for your salary.
Sometimes you’re likely to want to get groceries.
Sometimes you’re likely to want to go to restaurants.
Sometimes you’re likely to need to get housewares.
Sometimes you’re likely to need services from plumbers or mechanics or electricians.
If you choose your local community, that money stays in your community, and it’s likely to make it back to you.
If you buy from a company headquartered in a different city, the money you spend goes to that other city.
So next time you’re buying a burger and fries, check out your local restaurants.
I don’t disagree but a lot of chains rely on franchisers, who can still be a neighbour. Also the employees can still be your neighbour. Also the supplier can be your neighbor. Buying local is definitely a good choice, likely the better choice, but not all ‘companies headquartered in a different city’ are equally evil. Also because economy of scale is a thing. That’s why you’re not talking about ‘companies headquartered in another street’ for example.
All true! But the profits still get siphoned off elsewhere. My Lowe’s employs us locals, but the hardware store downtown doesn’t exist to provide shareholder value.
Again, you’re right. Non all non-local sellers are evil capitalists, hell bent on making us poor.
