This is What Happens When a Coffee Shop Tries to Rule the World

Fluff O' Meter - 2 out of 5
Winners - Common sense
Losers - Megalomania, Starbucks, Inc.

Reuters story link

Believe it or not, the Starbucks corp is currently facing declining sales, including a stock price that is off 40% over the last 12 months. Just like all trends and fads, apparently the idea of a $4.00 beverage with no alcohol in it is wearing thin on the American consumer.

Since this site is all about deconstructing the news for the rest of us, I know a lot of "the rest of us" who find it very hard to believe that a company who has a store every 1/4 of a mile (or less) is having financial problems.

I mentioned the word "fad" in the first paragraph because that is exactly what's going on here. I've never been a CEO or the president of a company, but I could have told you a couple of years ago that the Starbucks "American addiction" wouldn't last forever. Nothing ever does. How in the world could Starbucks not see this fad slowing down? I have a feeling that if Starbucks was a hula hoop company in the 1950's, you would have seen a hula hoop store on every corner followed by an angry sexually confused cashier behind the counter.

The Bigger Questions: I truly believe that capitalism is the best economic system for a free society. However, at what point does the quest for maximum profit turn into unabashed greed? Is "going public" really worth it in the end when you have all this continual pressure to top yourself quarter after quarter and please a bunch of anonymous people who repeatedly remind you in conference calls that they own you? Give me two In and Out Burger franchises and a Jiffy Lube and let me know how sales are going as I'm running a metal detector over the white sands of Waikiki. That's my idea of old man success. I'll take it... Actually, skip the metal detector part. Those guys always creep me out.