Too many Starbucks after all?

[mari]

We have a Starbucks in my town (thank God) but we're really in Dunkin' Donuts territory. Several years ago, I worked at a DD and our franchisee opened up another DD in the Stop & Shop across the street. S&S has since backed out of that arrangement and the DD area has been converted into a self-serve SBC station -- but it's not because it wasn't profitable. S&S is just trying to eliminate the "human element" from running its stores. We still have a second DD (owned by the same franchisee) about three miles from the other DD... and there are (at last count) four in the next town over. People here literally cannot go three miles down the road without a fresh DD.

 

[siskokid888]

As I recall, the founder of Starbucks said that he realized that people would not cross the street for a cup of coffee. If there was a Starbucks across the street, and a deli on the side they were on, they would go to the deli. The answer, for him, was Starbucks on both sides of the street. He put this idea into play, with good success, in NYC, and has copied around the country.

Edit: sorry, just saw doubleohfive pointed out the same info. So, just confirming that story then.

 

[T'Baio]

Their business plan also involves squeezing out the competition by mom and pop places or other franchises by any means necessary. This involves knowingly opening up a location with the plan to close it down in several years after the competition has been eliminated. This plan has actually been in it's second phase for awhile now. If you look at their reports, they've been closing almost as many places as they've been opening the last little while.

Starbucks, the WalMart of coffee.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Five blocks, I can sort of understand.

But literally across the street? Nah.

Well that's five shops within five blocks, which means one on every street, across from each other!

 

[John Picard]

I know it does happen. What I want to know is WHY. Does Starbucks really have so much money that they can afford to do this - opening up two stores literally across the street FROM EACH OTHER? And does it turn out to be cost effective for them in the end? I am not understanding any of this.

I read business news a lot, and what you're seeing is exactly what Starbucks wanted. The rationale was that if a location was very busy it would be better for customers to walk across the street to another location to be served, rather than have the customer walk out and go to a competitor.

 

[Danoz]

I currently live in Arlington, VA and the Arlington rap gets it right (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T1RMuoQnKo) -- There's a Starbucks in a Safeway right across from a Starbucks across the street.

 

[Goliath]

I live in Ontario. We have Starbucks, but really, this is Tim Horton's country.

The most remarkable example of saturation I've ever seen was in Hamilton, Ontario.

Imagine you are driving west on King Street. You come to the intersection of King & Dundurn. There is a Tim Horton's, on your right.

You turn left, and drive south down Dundurn Street to Main Street. Dundurn Mall is on your right. There is a Tim Horton's there.

You arrive at the intersection of Dundurn & Main. You turn left again, and proceed east, down Main Street. There is a Tim Horton's on your right.

They've got you coming, they've got you going--they've even got you stopping & shopping.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I know it does happen. What I want to know is WHY. Does Starbucks really have so much money that they can afford to do this - opening up two stores literally across the street FROM EACH OTHER? And does it turn out to be cost effective for them in the end?

Sometimes it does.

There are three Starbucks within three blocks walking distance from my front door - and one of them is across the street from a second. Now, the second is inside a grocery store, which helps explain it.

Within four blocks are also three independent coffee shops and a Caribou coffee. Extend that out to a three mile radius and there are at least six Starbucks that I know of.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I know it does happen. What I want to know is WHY. Does Starbucks really have so much money that they can afford to do this - opening up two stores literally across the street FROM EACH OTHER? And does it turn out to be cost effective for them in the end? I am not understanding any of this.

My question is: are they franchised? That can "almost" explain it.

The way I understand it, a full-blown Starbucks store is company-owned. However, locations such as those in Barnes & Noble may be licensed franchisees. They don't always have quite the same selection as a normal Starbucks. (For instance, Barnes & Noble gets its pastries from The Cheesecake Factory instead of Starbucks distributors.) Licensed locations also cannot accept Starbucks cards most of the time. (Yet you CAN use your B & N card.)

 

[doubleohfive]

I currently live in Arlington, VA and the Arlington rap gets it right (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T1RMuoQnKo) -- There's a Starbucks in a Safeway right across from a Starbucks across the street.

Lee-Harrison? By the Harris-Teeter?

That rap video is so great. You know you're from Arlington when you can identify each Starbucks they show and where they are located, even though all they show is the Starbucks logo/sign.

Also, A-town! Represent!

 

[Kirby]

I used to be able to boast that I could go to two different Starbucks without going outside.
The office building I worked in had a Starbucks in the lobby, but we also had a skybridge to the Embassy Suites Hotel across the street that had a Starbucks in it. The hotel was sold and was remodeled into a Ritz Carlton and they got rid of the Starbucks.
We also had another Starbucks 3 blocks east and another one 3 blocks south of the building.

Now that I work out in the burbs I have to drive to Starbucks, and there is one about a mile north and another one 1/2 south of my office.

 

[Canadave]

I live in Ontario. We have Starbucks, but really, this is Tim Horton's country.

The most remarkable example of saturation I've ever seen was in Hamilton, Ontario.

Imagine you are driving east on King Street. You come to the intersection of King & Dundurn. There is a Tim Horton's, on your right.

You turn left, and drive south down Dundurn Street to Main Street. Dundurn Mall is on your right. There is a Tim Horton's there.

You arrive at the intersection of Dundurn & Main. You turn left again, and proceed west, down Main Street. There is a Tim Horton's on your right.

They've got you coming, they've got you going--they've even got you stopping & shopping.

Here in Ottawa, our downtown mall has two Tim Hortons in it, plus one just on the other side of the street from one of the main entrances.

 

[auntiehill]

I think Lewis Black has the answer to this deep philosophical question:

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=41926&title=lewis-black-end-of-the-universe

 

[Canadave]

^ You do realize what the inspiration for this thread was, right?

 

[Captain Ice]

We have one corner not far from me that has 3 Starbucks locations. Two of these are even in the same strip mall.

 

[john titor]

They saturate the market for each location/town. You get cannibilization where one outlet will eat into the profits of another and they run at a loss but in the global sense they make a profit by eliminating all the competition such that if you want a coffee there is only Starbucks.

 

[Colonel Green]

Is this how WWIII starts? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[Trekker4747]

One could make an argument that what they're doing isn't too dissimilar than what McDonald's does.

There's a major arterial street here and there's two McDonald's within 3 city-blocks between them. There's a third another 4-5 city blocks away. Sure, not as extreme as being across the street from one-another but also pretty darn close. I think the "idea" is part to just make sure there's enough "supply" to meet the "demand." If there was just one McDonald's in this same 10 block area that one McDonald's likely would be three times busier as it'd have to do the business of three locations. Or McDonald's simply would be making less money since they're not as convenient.

It could be the same for these across from one another Starbucks where two in that location are needed because the demand is too great for one store to handle.

 

[propita]

Five blocks, I can sort of understand.

But literally across the street? Nah.

I currently live in Arlington, VA and the Arlington rap gets it right (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T1RMuoQnKo) -- There's a Starbucks in a Safeway right across from a Starbucks across the street.

We have one corner not far from me that has 3 Starbucks locations. Two of these are even in the same strip mall.

Fresno's Riverpark shopping center has a Starbucks on one side of a Mimi's Cafe, then one across the parking lot from Mimi's (probably less than a city block, walking it), then one in a Barnes & Noble in the shopping area across the street from these (a major street, though). Oh, and a Seattle's Best in the Border's just east of the two Starbucks in the the same shopping center. There was also a Java Wava or something in the second shopping area, too.

 

[B.J.]

I haven't seen that kind of density of Starbucks, but then again, I don't really pay attention since I don't drink coffee. But there was a similar situation that made me scratch my head. At one exit off I-85 north of Atlanta, I stopped at a Shell station to get some gas. Now, I can understand them having another Shell station on the opposite side of the interstate since the crossing road was a busy one, but there was a *third* Shell station immediately next to the one I stopped at! Same side of the street and everything! I'm thinking maybe Shell bought out the other competitors and took over their locations, but still!