Contents Introduction 3 PEST Analysis 4 References 8 Picture references 9 APENDIX A 10 APENDIX B 11

Introduction

The coffee industry is a multi-billion dollar industry which is getting bigger and bigger each year. Coffee is a huge industry and is the second most traded product in the world after oil. Even though there is an economic crisis going on in many countries, there strong demand for coffee keeps rising. All the major companies including Starbucks are repeatedly raising prices and consumers are spending as normal.
Starbucks is an international coffee chain and is the largest such company in the world. The industry that Starbucks can be placed in is within the speciality coffee industry. Starbucks total net revenues went up to $3.032 billion, up 15% on last year. As of January 2nd 2011, they have 17,009 stores worldwide operating in more than 50 different countries. Their products include coffee, hand crafted beverages, merchandise and fresh food.
Within the speciality coffee industry there are many companies. Some of Starbucks competitors include 7-Eleven, Dunkin Donuts, Caribou Coffee and McDonalds which are all USA based. In the UK Starbucks main competitors would be Costa Coffee, Café Nero and McDonalds. On top of these big competitors there are countless small independently owned coffee shops. Competitors like 7-Eleven, Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds offer coffee at relatively low prices. These chains simply just sell coffee to customers who want it on the go whereas at Starbucks it’s mainly about the whole ‘Starbucks experience’ as well as the coffee. These establishments are often minimally furnished and the whole idea is about fast food and coffee. This differs from Starbucks as their establishments are warmly decorated with warm inviting furniture and features like free internet to get customers to sit down and enjoy the whole