Page 72 - The Starbucks Experience

Everything Matters

Those differences that Leslie is referring to reflect a choice
made by Starbucks leadership to consciously meld consistent
environmental features in its store designs with community-
based nuances. As noted in the book Strategic Management:
Concepts and Cases,

Starbucks management looked upon each store as a bill-
board for the company and as a contributor to building
the company’s brand and image. Each detail was scru-
tinized to enhance the mood and ambience of the store,
to make sure everything signaled “best of class” and that
it reflected the personality of the community and the
neighborhood. The thesis was “Everything matters.” The
company went to great lengths to make sure the store
fixtures, the merchandise displays, the colors, the art-
work, the banners, the music, and the aromas all
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blended to create a consistent, inviting, stimulating envi-
ronment that evoked the romance of coffee, that sig-
naled the company’s passion for coffee, and that
rewarded customers with ceremony, stories, and sur-
prise. Starbucks was recognized for its sensitivity to
neighborhood conservation with the Scenic America’s
award for excellent design and “sensitive reuse of spaces
within cities.”

Just to show the importance of the environment, customer
Devin Page suggests, “Starbucks could very well operate
without even selling coffee. They could charge an entrance
fee and offer nothing else but a room and mellow Bob Mar-
ley music softly playing in the background, and people would
still come. Starbucks recognizes the niche they fill.” Even
when customers don’t consciously track the details, those
details—whether managed well or overlooked—often result