"huge chunk of Starbucks strategy involves there being a Starbucks on every quarter"
The other chunk of Starbucks strategy is that it's not about coffee.
Speaking strictly of the product (and not the experience which of course is equally important) Starbucks secret sauce is essentially that it is a "sugar delivery system".
I've yet to be in a Starbucks (and I"m in them every single day) where the majority of the beverages that are sold are not black coffee but drinks with a high sugar and even mocha content that are addictive on several levels.
Sure. That's why they get away with selling bad coffee. If you're going to load it up with sugar and cinammon and whipped cream and three shots of caramel the quality of the coffee is largely irrelevant.
The other chunk of Starbucks strategy is that it's not about coffee.
Speaking strictly of the product (and not the experience which of course is equally important) Starbucks secret sauce is essentially that it is a "sugar delivery system".
I've yet to be in a Starbucks (and I"m in them every single day) where the majority of the beverages that are sold are not black coffee but drinks with a high sugar and even mocha content that are addictive on several levels.