STARBUCKS: PORTER’S FIVE FORCES
Marketers often talk about the importance of a strong brand to firms and many analysts believe an ever-increasing percentage of business value is derived from intangible assets.
In 2013, Interbrand valued Starbucks as the world’s most valuable coffeehouse brand at $4.4b. But what does this actually mean? How does a strong brand benefit Starbucks through its impact external stakeholders, such as customers and suppliers?
According to Michael Porter (1980), competitive rivalry is maximised where the threat of new entrants, substitutes, power of buyers and power of suppliers are all low – a theory known as Porter’s Five Forces. Using this theory as a basis, it is important for us to understand whether the Starbucks corporate brand impacts these four forces.