There has been plenty of coverage of the memo from Starbucks (SBUX) founder Howard Schultz to his key staff. He laments changes made at the chain that have, to a large extent, allowed it to expand to 12,000 locations. As the Financial Times writes : "He said steps to make the company more efficient, such as the introduction of automatic espresso machines, had robbed stores of character."
Mr. Schultz, now a billionaire, needs to find something better to do with his time. Going from few stores to thousands absolutely requires that certain processes and procedures be standardized. It also requires a certain "sameness" at all of the outlets.
McDonald’s (MCD) has, oddly enough, become Starbucks most powerful competitor. Its improved breakfast menu, including premium coffee, is threatening to take more and more customers away from Starbucks and cripple the coffee retailer’s attempt to get to 40,000 stores worldwide.
And, it would be hard to find a chain where the stores and procedures are more uniform the McDonald’s.
Douglas A. McIntyre can be reached at [email protected]. He does not own securities in companies that he writes about.
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