It should come as no surprise that Starbuck’s cup has runneth over. After all, how many businesses can you name that successfully competes with itself at every corner? Starbucks recent announcement that it is closing 600 of it’s US stores is predictable. As many as 12,000 workers will lose their jobs. Most of the stores that are closing have been opened within the last three years.
I personally will not feel the impact of this announcement as I rarely stop in for a latte. I prefer my local coffee place Shelburne Falls. In fact, I have a shipment coming in from Western, Mass. early today so I can brew my own coffee without waiting in line.
I suspect others have caught on as well. You can actually sleep in an extra 30 minutes if you spend five minutes making your own coffee. We won’t even discuss the savings.
Lots of Boomers frequent coffee places like Starbucks prior to going into the office. I wonder what type of impact the changing demographics will have on places that rely on business from Boomers. Many Boomers will exit the workplace and will no longer need to power up before starting their day. They may choose to stay home and perhaps even roast their own beans now that they have time on their hands.
The time to analyze these trends in your business is now. If your organization services or sells to a high percentage of Boomers, consider asking your own people what type of adjustments should be made in your business model. This one small step may prevent you from winding up in tomorrow’s news announcements of yet another company losing steam.
Gotta run. I can smell that my coffee is ready.
