On Saks and Starbucks: Demanding Value in Tough Economic Times
Problem with your logic is that you’re presuming Starbucks woes are entirely macroeconomic when they are purely internal. I mean, Howard Schultz published his infamous Valentine’s Day lament about the decline of Starbucks over two years ago.
Case and point is that Peet’s Coffee & Tea — who taught Starbucks everything they knew in the 70s — is still selling $4 lattes and just posted a 21% increase in quarterly profits:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/02/12/ap6047653.html
Meanwhile, the AP mentioned in a recent story that neighborhood cafes with “fancy baristas” are also posting double-digit growth:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6263405.html
Your McDonald’s, Starbucks, and economy case falls apart in the face of these data points and invalidates your assumptions.
