Unbranded Starbucks stores divided opinion back in the 2000s, and there are echoes in modern corporate-backed specialty companies like Intelligentsia and Blue Bottle.
Oct 6, 2023·edited Oct 6, 2023Liked by Fionn Pooler
I loved this letter and looking through the linked articles. It's fascinating to look back on old reports and see the hints of what was to come. I especially loved the quote from Mike Mckim.
I was young in the 2000's, so this is my first time reading about the stealth stores. The Reserve locations and their $20 siphon coffees feel like a natural next step when you consider their desire to remain relevant in the localism movement, along with the special barista training that the NYT covered. It's slow-ish coffee.
Thanks for reading! It is funny how Starbucks swung so wildly from "comfy artisan coffeehouse" to "completely automated high-growth" and now with the Reserve shops back towards their original iteration. Judging by his memo, Schultz never really liked the automation and expansion stuff, but of course that's where the money was/is.
I remember visiting Starbucks stealth store in Seattle. Being a owner of a small coffee shop in southern Brazil we found it an interesting concept. Now that I have a chain of coffee shops of my own, I believe I will sell at some point to a larger coffee company. This concept that keeping the concept, brand and coffee original makes it easier for the buyer and example of George Howells troubles the potential cons in rebranding. I love the fact that you write about this. Very niche but great for us!
This is interesting, I hadn't really though about it from the seller's perspective. I guess once you have several locations the number of potential buyers gets smaller and smaller, so you might end up having to deal with a big company that will want to rebrand. What other options are there?
I loved this letter and looking through the linked articles. It's fascinating to look back on old reports and see the hints of what was to come. I especially loved the quote from Mike Mckim.
I was young in the 2000's, so this is my first time reading about the stealth stores. The Reserve locations and their $20 siphon coffees feel like a natural next step when you consider their desire to remain relevant in the localism movement, along with the special barista training that the NYT covered. It's slow-ish coffee.
Thanks for reading! It is funny how Starbucks swung so wildly from "comfy artisan coffeehouse" to "completely automated high-growth" and now with the Reserve shops back towards their original iteration. Judging by his memo, Schultz never really liked the automation and expansion stuff, but of course that's where the money was/is.
I remember visiting Starbucks stealth store in Seattle. Being a owner of a small coffee shop in southern Brazil we found it an interesting concept. Now that I have a chain of coffee shops of my own, I believe I will sell at some point to a larger coffee company. This concept that keeping the concept, brand and coffee original makes it easier for the buyer and example of George Howells troubles the potential cons in rebranding. I love the fact that you write about this. Very niche but great for us!
This is interesting, I hadn't really though about it from the seller's perspective. I guess once you have several locations the number of potential buyers gets smaller and smaller, so you might end up having to deal with a big company that will want to rebrand. What other options are there?