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ppauper
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starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 1:38 pm

what's going on with starbucks ?I've seen a least half a dozen new stores open within 10 miles of my house in the last year, yet now I read Starbucks to close 500 more US shopsare they doing well or in the crapper or what ?
 
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Traden4Alpha
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Joined: September 20th, 2002, 8:30 pm

starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 2:08 pm

The economy is putting them through the grinder. My take is that the company was a scheme for converting excess home equity into expensive coffee -- part of a subprime-SUV-SBUX trifecta of exuberant consumption. Now people are being forced to give up their venti lifestyles which is roasting SBUX's revenues.There will always be a niche for SBUX -- it's a great third-space for self-employed quants, itinerant bloggers, and budding novelists -- but I can't imagine that SBUX cup will runneth over again any time soon.
 
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farmer
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Joined: December 16th, 2002, 7:09 am

starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 2:08 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: ppauperare they doing well or in the crapper or what ?There are six or seven within a six-block radius - small blocks - from my house. I could walk to any of six Starbucks in maybe 8 minutes tops, at a normal pace. That seems odd to me. But there is about an equal number of mini grocery stores with basic produce, and soda and stuff in the same radius, maybe one or two more. And those stores are all almost identical, even though they are all owned by different people.So people need coffee, I don't see why Starbucks would ever go out of business. It provides coffee which is also sold every other doorway. Plus Starbucks provides a place to sit and drink the coffee that is more on the cool side, as contrasted against being surrounded by the drunks and mumbling homeless people that lurk around the all the mini grocery stores.
 
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Cuchulainn
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starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 2:33 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: Traden4AlphaThe economy is putting them through the grinder. My take is that the company was a scheme for converting excess home equity into expensive coffee -- part of a subprime-SUV-SBUX trifecta of exuberant consumption. Now people are being forced to give up their venti lifestyles which is roasting SBUX's revenues.Anytime I go to drink coffee, people say I would like a latte or some funny name like that (in the beginning I thought they wanted a glass of milk ). What happened to ye good old Italian cafe. I suppose it's not trendy enough.converting excess home equity into expensive coffee it's more liquid. Subprime coffee?And Guinnness + shushi is kind of 'out' as well. Erstwhile tigers have changed their diet.Others will be: tapas, less visits to the foot masseur, just watch... And you can forget those weekends in Vienna.
Last edited by Cuchulainn on July 1st, 2008, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
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farmer
Posts: 61
Joined: December 16th, 2002, 7:09 am

starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 3:10 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: Cuchulainnconverting excess home equity into expensive coffee it's more liquid. Subprime coffee?And Guinnness + shushi is kind of 'out' as well. Erstwhile tigers have changed their diet.Others will be: tapas, less visits to the foot masseur, just watch... And you can forget those weekends in Vienna.What about Barack Obama? Can we still afford Democrats??
 
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Traden4Alpha
Posts: 3300
Joined: September 20th, 2002, 8:30 pm

starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 3:12 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: CuchulainnQuoteOriginally posted by: Traden4AlphaThe economy is putting them through the grinder. My take is that the company was a scheme for converting excess home equity into expensive coffee -- part of a subprime-SUV-SBUX trifecta of exuberant consumption. Now people are being forced to give up their venti lifestyles which is roasting SBUX's revenues.Anytime I go to drink coffee, people say I would like a latte or some funny name like that (in the beginning I thought they wanted a glass of milk ). What happened to ye good old Italian cafe. I suppose it's not trendy enough.converting excess home equity into expensive coffee it's more liquid. Subprime coffee?SBUX coffee cost an ARM and a leg. And customers' use of the fancy lingo was part of an economic signaling system that told SBUX that it could boost prices without fear of losing customers. QuoteOriginally posted by: CuchulainnAnd Guinnness + shushi is kind of 'out' as well. Erstwhile tigers have changed their diet.Others will be: tapas, less visits to the foot masseur, just watch...Never! Giving up tapas would be just plain barbaric. They'll get my tapas when they pry my cold dead fingers from those little plates.QuoteOriginally posted by: CuchulainnAnd you can forget those weekends in Vienna.And the euphemism du jour is "staycation" in which the family stays at home pretending to enjoy each other's company.
 
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Cuchulainn
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Location: 20, 000

starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 6:51 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: Traden4AlphaQuoteOriginally posted by: CuchulainnQuoteOriginally posted by: Traden4AlphaThe economy is putting them through the grinder. My take is that the company was a scheme for converting excess home equity into expensive coffee -- part of a subprime-SUV-SBUX trifecta of exuberant consumption. Now people are being forced to give up their venti lifestyles which is roasting SBUX's revenues.Anytime I go to drink coffee, people say I would like a latte or some funny name like that (in the beginning I thought they wanted a glass of milk ). What happened to ye good old Italian cafe. I suppose it's not trendy enough.converting excess home equity into expensive coffee it's more liquid. Subprime coffee?SBUX coffee cost an ARM and a leg. And customers' use of the fancy lingo was part of an economic signaling system that told SBUX that it could boost prices without fear of losing customers. QuoteOriginally posted by: CuchulainnAnd Guinnness + shushi is kind of 'out' as well. Erstwhile tigers have changed their diet.Others will be: tapas, less visits to the foot masseur, just watch...Never! Giving up tapas would be just plain barbaric. They'll get my tapas when they pry my cold dead fingers from those little plates.QuoteOriginally posted by: CuchulainnAnd you can forget those weekends in Vienna.And the euphemism du jour is "staycation" in which the family stays at home pretending to enjoy each other's company.Still, it could be worse, like working in LI City for $1 an hour in '72
 
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Anthis
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Joined: October 22nd, 2001, 10:06 am

starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 8:01 pm

I am curious to see the future of starbucks here. Over the last 5 years or so they have implemented an aggressive marketing plan, new shops open often, selling something that is perceived here more as a overpriced candy than a coffee, promoting some sort of "lifestyle", in a country with strong coffee culture. McDonalds tried to invade the market here some 15 years ago and it was a remarkable business case of failure. Wendy's had smashed their face before them. I wouldnt be surprised to see the same story repeated with starbucks.
 
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Collector
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starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 9:04 pm

starbucks coffee is much better in UK than US, at least you get real cups there, coffee taste awful from plastic-paper cups.... have someone measured the amount of "plastic" molecules that get disolved into the coffee.If the customers don't care about quality they do not get quality....
Last edited by Collector on July 1st, 2008, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
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Cuchulainn
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Location: 20, 000

starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 9:30 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: Collectorstarbucks coffee is much better in UK than US, at least you get real cups there, coffee taste awful from plastic-paper cups.... have someone measured the amount of "plastic" molecules that get disolved into the coffee.If the customers don't care about quality they do not get quality....Buy one of these and put *Ily* coffee in it. It's first thing in the morning!!!how to make a coffee The hugging and arm waving part is optional.
Last edited by Cuchulainn on July 1st, 2008, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
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Anthis
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Joined: October 22nd, 2001, 10:06 am

starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 10:51 pm

QuoteNever! Giving up tapas would be just plain barbaric. They'll get my tapas when they pry my cold dead fingers from those little plates.Tapas (meze in eastern med area) is CULT.
 
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farmer
Posts: 61
Joined: December 16th, 2002, 7:09 am

starbucks

July 2nd, 2008, 11:43 pm

I've never had a tapas. But I bet if you emptied all those little plates onto one big tortilla, rolled it up, and stuffed it in your mouth, it would be good.Or how about this: Boil some lasagna noodles, and cover the bottom of a greased hotel pan with a single layer. Dump the contents of all the tapas plates in there. Cover with grated mozzarella, sea salt, and a few shakes of grappa, put another layer of lasagna noodles on top, bake, and serve.Or I bet if you emptied all those plates into a pot of fish stock, boiled it for 15 minutes, and pushed it through a strainer, it would make a nice sauce for sea bass.Or, you could grind whatever is on all those plates into a paste. Stuff it into a sausage skin, roll it in salt, and hang it to dry. Then when it is nice and firm and the skin has gone hard and sour, slice off a few thin slices to top off an interesting pizza.Or, you could just put all those plates on the floor, and let a dog eat it. Then capture his urine, and distill the water out of it. Stick this in a molecular separator to capture the essence of tapas-ingested-by-dog, mix it with an alcohol base, and sell it as a bottled perfume to be worn by tapas waitresses.Or, stick all the plates in the freezer, come back after closing time, and throw the frozen tapas through the plate-glass window of the tapas bar. In the morning there will be tapas everywhere, but no sign of what broke the window.There is so much to do with tapas provided you're not a girly man who just sits there nibbling daintily...
 
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exneratunrisk
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Joined: April 20th, 2004, 12:25 pm

starbucks

July 3rd, 2008, 10:50 am

They did not understand the co-evolution of coffe shops and work efficiency.If there are a few coffee shops, workers sleep at work, get fired and cannot afford coffee.If there are too many coffee shops, workers sit in coffe shops, get fired and.....If there are few workers, they buy few coffee and coffe shops bankrupt.If there are too many workers, they stand in long lines, get bored and go to pubs and coffe shops...
 
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ppauper
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Joined: November 15th, 2001, 1:29 pm

starbucks

July 3rd, 2008, 1:23 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: Collectorstarbucks coffee is much better in UK than US, at least you get real cups there, coffee taste awful from plastic-paper cups.... have someone measured the amount of "plastic" molecules that get disolved into the coffee.is it bisphenol A?
 
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Collector
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starbucks

July 3rd, 2008, 6:59 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: ppauperQuoteOriginally posted by: Collectorstarbucks coffee is much better in UK than US, at least you get real cups there, coffee taste awful from plastic-paper cups.... have someone measured the amount of "plastic" molecules that get disolved into the coffee.is it bisphenol A?I have no idea, but from wikipedia: Bisphenol A :"Bisphenol A, commonly abbreviated as BPA, is an organic compound with two phenol functional groups. It is a difunctional building block of several important polymers and polymer additives. With an annual production of approximately 3 million tonnes, it is an important monomer in the production of polycarbonate.Suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s, concerns about the use Bisphenol A in consumer products grabbed headlines in 2008 when several governments issued reports questioning its safety, and some retailers pulled products made from it off their shelves."I simply think coffee taste much better from a real ceramic cup (and trust your taste)Canada Takes Steps to Ban Most Plastic Baby Bottles"The move to ban polycarbonate infant bottles is the first action taken by any government against bisphenol-a, a chemical that has induced long-term changes in animals exposed to it."What about big babies, should we not be protected as well?Coke taste better from glass bottles!!!Coffee better from ceramic or porcelain cups.Milk best from silver cup (good reasons for it actually). I love Milk!Vodka best from glass bottle Water better from glass bottleWater of life: Akvavit drink stright from the oak casks, do not let any plastic bottle destroy its taste (and your brain). The earliest known reference to akvavit is found in a 1531 letter from the Danish Lord of Bergenshus castle, Eske Bille to Olav Engelbretsson, the last Archbishop of Norway.Do you like the idea that plastic particles are doing brownian motions, probably with some jumps inside your brain....wikipedia:"Bisphenol A has a low acute toxicity, with an oral LD50 of 3250 mg/kg in rats.[9] However, bisphenol A is an endocrine disruptor: it is an estrogen receptor agonist,[10] and such agonists can act like the body's own hormones, leading to similar physiological effects on the body.[11] There is thus concern that long term low dose exposure to bisphenol A may induce chronic toxicity in humans."
Last edited by Collector on July 2nd, 2008, 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.