Starbucks, which built its business on word-of-mouth, is about to unveil a "long term, multi-million dollar" advertising campaign that will focus on "the quality, value, and the values that Starbucks
offers," Jonathan Birchall reports. In particular, it will battle the perception that its products are too pricey.
"We're doing a very good job of starting to demystify the fact that
Starbucks coffee does not cost $4 as people are charging us with," says Howard Schultz, who resumed the CEO position early last year. He says that customers who are opting to take their java at
fast-food eateries such as McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts "know that they are compromising and I know that's going to play well for us in the future."
Comparable sales fell by 8% during
Starbuck's second quarter, following last year's 9% drop, owing to a 5% decline in the number of customer visits and a 3% decline in average transactions, the company reports.
advertisement
advertisement
Read the whole story at Financial Times »