Late Night: Tulsa Time and More…
16 February 2009 10:15 pm by PamelaLeavey
I have no idea what route Taylor is taking on her cross country journey, but if she’s driving via the southern route she’ll be hitting Tulsa Time after some good hard driving.
Throughout my cross country drive, we found that the GPS we were using was lousy at finding gas stations, but great at directing us to Starbucks, which became few and far between in the heartland. An editorial in the Philly Inquirer yesterday suggested that Starbucks was good model to “forecast the U.S. economy.”
In the middle of 2006, Starbucks’ stock price peaked at $39.63 a share. Everywhere you looked, a new Starbucks was opening, an average of six new stores a day. The company had 12,241 shops in the United States, with plans to expand to 40,000 locations worldwide. Citing increased demand from less-affluent customers, chief executive officer Howard Schultz told investors: “We don’t believe that we are even 50 percent through to the unique opportunity we have.”
Things have changed.
At the end of January, Starbucks Corp. announced its second round of store closings, bringing the number of U.S. stores it will shutter to 800. The company’s revenue has shrunk. Its net income for 2008 declined 54 percent. Its first-quarter profit from 2009 is down 69 percent. Today, Starbucks’ stock price hovers around $9.50.
From Wall Street to Main Street, the days of sipping latte’s are long gone for many, and only time will tell if the stimulus plan will provide the boost everyone is hoping for.
An editorial in the Philly Inquirer yesterday suggested that Starbucks was good model to “forecast the U.S. economy.”
I was there way ahead of them. My theory is that they’re one of those canary businesses – the first ones that go sour when things are starting to get tight. It’s the sort of thing people buy when they have money and don’t have time. When things are going the other way, they can make coffee at home.
P.S. Drive carefully, Taylor.
The current economic situation does effect Starbucks (and other companies), but there are other reasons; especially for Starbucks.
They lost that “certain something” – je ne sais quoi – if you will.
They over extended, thus diminishing their brand and product. Remember Krispy Kreme? Darling stock, strong consumer base, everywhere. Now it’s just a doughnut place.
From http://www.thirdwayblog.com/2008/01/
…The result, however, was to create exactly what Howard Schultz (CEO) primarily despised – another fast food outlet. Year after year in small, barely noticeable ways, Starbucks retreated from being the ‘third place’ that Schultz had envisioned. It added more food, changing the atmosphere. Then other types of merchandise, from coffee mints to music, were promoted, each making Starbucks feel minutely more like a retail chain and less like a refuge….
Now Starbucks is talking about introducing a “breakfast menu,” just like McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts.