Example of swot analysis: starbucks essay

One of the most renowned global corporations of contemporary times is Starbucks. Its origin could be traced 42 years ago in 1971 with the establishment of a single store located in Seattle’s Pike Place Market . Currently, it boasts of having established and operated a total of 17, 651 stores as of July of 2012 . The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that impinge on the business is hereby enumerated below:

Strengths:

– Exceptional product in more than 30 different blends made from premium coffee beans;
– Voted among World’s Most Ethical Companies ;
– Exemplary leadership who leads the organization into unprecedented growth;
– It generated as much as $13. 3 billion in net revenues in 2012 and an operating income of $1, 997, 000 for the same period .

Weaknesses:

– The organization’s main core competence and focus on using premium coffee blend which could only cater to the medium to high income customers;
– The need to pursue ventures into international markets using current resources and competencies might necessitate greater understanding of cultural awareness and diversity.

Opportunities:

– Venturing into other global and emerging markets to further expand global market shares in the premium and specialty coffee market segment;
– Launching new products and services that cater to an increasingly discerning and sophisticated clientele could spur new growths in discovering new coffee blends or food items to be offered;
– Making acquisitions or forging alliances with existing establishments which offer similar products and services.

Threats:

– Increasing competition in local and international markets due to the lucrative potentials for financial success;
– Changing preferences and perceptions of customers regarding focusing on more healthy drink alternatives, other than coffee;
– Greater entry restrictions for global organizations to venture into other foreign markets could pose challenges in address them.

References

Starbucks. (2012, August). Starbucks Company Profile. Retrieved from globalassets. starbucks. com: http://globalassets. starbucks. com/assets/9a6616b98dc64271ac8c910fbee47884. pdf
Starbucks. (2012). Starbucks Corporation Fiscal 2012 Annual Report. Retrieved from phx. corporate-ir. net: http://phx. corporate-ir. net/phoenix. zhtml? c= 99518&p= irol-reportsAnnual
Starbucks. (2013). About Us. Retrieved from starbucks. com: http://www. starbucks. com/about-us/company-information