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14 May 2010 12:07

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Biz: Seattle’s Best pre-fabs its way into being “the coffee of the poeple”

  • Starbucks owns this brand. That’s all you need to know. The company has owned this coffee offshoot for about seven years, and now plans to market it as if it’s the Old Navy to their Gap. To that, we say, “Caribou Coffee.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Aug 2009 10:42

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Biz: It looks like a hip, independent coffee shop, but it’s really Starbucks

15th Avenue Coffee & Tea, Inspired by Starbucks
  • This new petri dish, the 15th Avenue Coffee & Tea (which is “inspired by Starbucks”), is Starbucks’ attempt to learn some lessons about flair, quality and comfort that are currently missing from their own cold and cool and uncomfortable stores. The shop, based in Seattle, does most of the things that independent coffee shops do – brewing using low-tech methods, bringing in food from local bakeries, making their espresso arty. Will it actually end up making Starbucks cool again? No. But it’s a great start. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

20 Aug 2009 21:02

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Biz: Whoa. Starbucks is going to actually cut prices on some drinks!

  • simple Drinks like small coffees and lattes should go down by 5-10¢, on average. It’s the first price decrease in the company’s history.
  • complex Drinks like Frappuccinos go up by a quarter in most markets; other drinks will go up 10-15¢. Doesn’t matter; they still suck. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jul 2009 22:29

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Biz: Cancer group: They should call frappuccinos “fatuccinos”

  • 561 calories number of calories a single Venti Dark Berry Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks has – drinking a lot of these will make you very fat
  • 200+ calories calorie amounts that many iced coffee drinks have, according to the World Cancer Research Fund, acting as an obesity watchdog source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jul 2009 21:26

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Biz, Tech: Coke has a big Facebook brand, but it’s not as big as Starbucks

  • 3.5 million number of fans the soft-drink company has managed to curate on Facebook since Pages began; it was long the leading Facebook brand
  • 3.7 million number of fans the coffee-addiction-peddling company has curated on Facebook; Starbucks leapfrogged over Coke using coupons source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jun 2009 11:15

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Biz: Fast food places decide to get a bit riskier in their choices

  • This is a defining moment for the industry. The financial crisis has brought with it a redefining of boundaries.
  • Hudson Riehle • Research chief at the National Restaurant Association on how the recession has had the effect of making things like KFC grilled chicken, premium coffee at McDonald’s, value menus at Starbucks and subs at Domino’s the norm. Ten years ago, this kind of stuff would be unheard of. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 May 2009 18:16

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U.S.: Bomb shakes up a NYC Starbucks like a venti Frappuccino

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

24 May 2009 11:20

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Biz, Offbeat: The guy visiting every Starbucks can’t seem to get closure

  • 9,000+ number of Starbucks “Winter” has visited since starting Starbucks Everywhere a dozen years ago. He’s trying to visit every one.
  • 900 number of Starbucks the company has closed in the last couple years, giving little notice before they close. “Winter” is freaking out, BTW. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

10 Feb 2009 10:18

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Biz: We don’t care if Starbucks has breakfast combos now. They still suck.

  • A full meal, only $3.95 Starbucks claims that the cruddy economy has inspired them to do something they’ve never done before: Offer fast-food-style combos. For $3.95, you get a 12 oz. coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Or a 12 oz. latte and oatmeal or a roll. About time they gave into their mediocrity.
  • Price readjustment The company, which built its brand on charging people a crapload of money for a really fancy drink, has tried to change course recently to match the prices of less-cool competitors like Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s. Oh, and they had lots of layoffs recently. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

07 Feb 2009 13:57

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Biz, U.S.: The “Starbucks Dream” is gone, says columnist who doesn’t get it

  • Starbucks was the great American backup plan. The emergency exit. The parachute.
  • Mary Schmich • Chicago Tribune columnist, on the idea that one could start working at Starbucks as a backup plan to their full-time job. With layoffs even at the Green Menace, that backup plan is looking less likely. Personally, we would consider working at Starbucks to be a nightmare that just keeps repeating itself, “Groundhog Day”-style. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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