Business Corporate Strategy (Starbucks in China) Essay

Business Corporate Strategy (Starbucks in China) - Essay Example To go ahead with this task, Starbucks needs to have a detailed customer profile depending on the targeted segments because in general, as a long term strategy, customers are segmented based on their demographics, marketing habits etc. Such an analysis is to be preceded by a detailed analysis of the company, with a Chinese perspective, using some of the following strategic tools. A committed managerial team is headed by Howard Schultz, the present Chairman, who has proved to be a man with a mission. A dynamic person, he known to be full of energy who successfully transformed the US operations to their present proposition. Over time and with experience, Starbucks has developed a sophisticated store-development process based on a six-month opening schedule. This target driven strategy helped the company in opening large number of stores in US and elsewhere. Starbucks has been doing the ground work in China since 1994. Therefore comparing the growth of its operations in other nations, Starbuck could not successfully implement this experience in China and had to be content with relatively modest success. The company has taken little too long in building the foundation. Though Starbucks has shown its commitment to environment and health by maintaining a no-smoking policy, but in this part of the world, people prefer to sit out and chat with a cup of coffee on the table and a cigarette in hand. Opportunities For long China carried the reputation of being the world's greatest opponent of globalisation. But now things are perceptibly different. Today China has transformed itself into a committed member of WTO. Under the globalization, China is a rapidly growing market Though dominantly a tea drinker nation, Chinese consumer is rapidly accepting Coffee as one of the main beverages. According to Euromonitor, total sales of coffee in China has grown by nearly 90% between 1998 and 2003. Estimates for future point out that the market is bound to grow by about 70% in the period 2004-2008. Consumption of coffee has so far been concentrated in big cities only. Now with the establishment of a firm foundation the company can plan out a formidable plan for mediums sized cities and hamlets. Chinese beverages market is still vastly (more than 42%) dominated by Tea drinkers, this leaves enough room for inviting these people