Strengths
• Starbucks has a strong brand presence, which is leading as a global organization with more than 16,000 retail stores in 48 countries across the entire world.
• Best known for its high quality and services.
• Strong brand loyalty.
• It provides an atmosphere of sophistication, calmness and style that represents its own functional and emotional benefits to consumers.
• Has the Wi-Fi facility in all of its retail stores.
• Have fewer competitions in the market.
• Starbucks treats employees as partners who hold the urge to provide message to its customers which is significant to the product line.
• Starbucks has the competitive advantage of providing innovative products more quickly in the all of the same retail stores.
Weaknesses
• Starbucks generates 85% of revenues from US, its domestic market. Being known as an international brand, the organization needs to obtain some revenues from outside the US market.
• Starbucks relies more greatly on creating innovation in beverages, at the time of economy slowdown it will be risky for the company as to how long they will be able to sustain.
• Starbucks faces some difficulties internationally, as one of its market expansion failed miserably like Japan so this affects the international growth of the company.
Opportunities
• Starbucks has a strong market share of about 40%, this is beneficial for the company to expand ahead globally specifically as a coffee market.
• Starbucks has gone for market extension in beverage category by introducing Starbucks coffee liquor drink linked with Jim Beams brand.
• Currently, Starbucks is operating 15,000 international and expects to expand further in countries like Russia, China which will further increase its revenue growth.
• Technological advancement can help Starbucks improve its services.
Threats
• The political, economic and weather conditions in some countries outside the domestic market like India can adversely affect the business.
• The rise in dairy prices can be a threat to Starbucks as milk and dairy products usually get 3% or 5% of sales and its consistently increase in prices could affect the company’s operations.
• Starbucks must be careful of the emerging competition especially in the domestic market, any major competitor can hit the market, therefore Starbucks must be competitive on all levels to retain its position as the world’s leading coffee retailer.