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Speaking of coffee shops, I can't for the life of me remember where I heard/read this story, but there was a guy who owned a coffee shop who said that they got

by ksdale 8y ago

Speaking of coffee shops, I can't for the life of me remember where I heard/read this story, but there was a guy who owned a coffee shop who said that they got a big boost in business when Starbucks opened across the street from them. His claim was that Starbucks was approachable enough to turn more people in the town into regular coffee drinkers, and once they became regular coffee drinkers, they would often seek out something they liked better than Starbucks and end up in his shop.

Pxl_Buzzard 8y ago
My uncle in Kansas City runs a coffee shop that ran Starbucks of out business[1]. Starbucks brought coffee shops to the masses, but once people get hooked they generally like to support local craft shops that often taste better and feel more personal. 1. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/business/30sbux.html https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/business/30sbux.html
specialist 8y ago
I worked at Starbucks in Store Planning in the early nineties. The Real Estate group at the time was superior. Picking locations, revenue projections, competitive analysis. This was received wisdom inside the org. Having Starbucks show up in your town educated (or created) the market. The nonsense about Starbuck driving local coffee shops out of business was never reality based. Competing chains? Sure. But not the mom & pops. And since then, there's been a proliferation of local chains. That said... Starbucks (for coffee) != Amazon (for books). Starbucks is more like Anheuser-Busch: mass market, consistency, broad appeal. By their nature, both leave plenty of room for microbrews and local roasters. Amazon is more like Walmart, a destroyer of markets. Your margin is their opportunity.
fencepost 8y ago
There's also a "cluster of restaurants" aspect to this kind of thing. If you have multiple restaurants or coffee shops within the same area when people are interested in going out for food or coffee they'll go to that area. If there are multiple choices available when they arrive it may be up in the air which one they go to.

by ksdale 8y ago

Pxl_Buzzard 8y ago

My uncle in Kansas City runs a coffee shop that ran Starbucks of out business[1]. Starbucks brought coffee shops to the masses, but once people get hooked they generally like to support local craft shops that often taste better and feel more personal. 1. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/business/30sbux.html https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/business/30sbux.html

specialist 8y ago

I worked at Starbucks in Store Planning in the early nineties. The Real Estate group at the time was superior. Picking locations, revenue projections, competitive analysis. This was received wisdom inside the org. Having Starbucks show up in your town educated (or created) the market. The nonsense about Starbuck driving local coffee shops out of business was never reality based. Competing chains? Sure. But not the mom & pops. And since then, there's been a proliferation of local chains. That said... Starbucks (for coffee) != Amazon (for books). Starbucks is more like Anheuser-Busch: mass market, consistency, broad appeal. By their nature, both leave plenty of room for microbrews and local roasters. Amazon is more like Walmart, a destroyer of markets. Your margin is their opportunity.

fencepost 8y ago

There's also a "cluster of restaurants" aspect to this kind of thing. If you have multiple restaurants or coffee shops within the same area when people are interested in going out for food or coffee they'll go to that area. If there are multiple choices available when they arrive it may be up in the air which one they go to.