3 ms·

I always thought it was funny that for a while Starbucks operated two shops on opposite corners of the same intersection at Robson & Thurlow in Vancouver. http

by ben1040 12y ago

I always thought it was funny that for a while Starbucks operated two shops on opposite corners of the same intersection at Robson & Thurlow in Vancouver. https://www.google.com/maps/@49.284602,-123.12482,3a,75y,229.43h,88.21t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1swLc1XkJNahMG2XeLfYQWZg!2e0 https://www.google.com/maps/@49.284602,-123.12482,3a,75y,229... One of them has been closed since this Street View image was taken in 2012, but they were both there for some time (I had worked in the area in 2008 and they both were definitely there then).

Jtsummers 12y ago
I would think that's somewhat similar to two gas stations on opposite corners. You can get in and out of one of them fairly easily from any direction and going back out in your desired direction. You're not invested (usually) in going to a particular Starbucks when you're getting your coffee on the go. This lets them increase the throughput for the area, while also capturing traffic (foot traffic in the case of this setup it seems) from more directions. You want coffee, but it's on the opposite corner then you have to cross two roads two times each? That's inconvenient. You have to cross, in the worst case, one road twice to get coffee in this setup. (Note: I don't think people analyze their behavior to that depth, but ease of access is at least an unconcious factor in determining whether to visit a place.)
SixSigma 12y ago
Clustering is also a benefit to supply chain logistics, although it would be a bit extreme to do it just for that.