Coffee City
Melissa Allison tracks Seattle's — and the world's — caffeine addiction.
Comments (21)
E-mail article
Print view
Share
Did Starbucks traffic fall because it lost cachet? Or was it just early to the recession?
Posted by Melissa Allison
Following a deluge of books about Starbucks, a new title that's not strictly about the coffee giant has emerged with a seemingly simple idea: "The most successful products offer either convenience, which includes attractive pricing, or 'fidelity,' which means high quality and cachet," Lisa Von Ahn of Reuters writes.
In "Trade-Off" (Broadway, $23), former USA Today writer Kevin Maney argues that, "In the late 1990s, Starbucks epitomized cool, and people were willing to endure long lines for its pricey coffee concoctions. But when it expanded aggressively, the Starbucks experience began to look rather mundane," Von Ahn writes.
Is that why Starbucks' traffic into U.S. stores started declining in 2007, when the economy was still expanding? Or did lattes just take a hit before everything else, making Starbucks a leading economic indicator as Seeking Alpha and Jonathan Last at the Philadelphia Inquirer have suggested? (And which Safeway CEO Steven Burd's comments yesterday reinforce?)
Feb 9, 10 - 3:40 PM
Brady Campaign circulates petition to keep guns out of Starbucks
Feb 8, 10 - 1:27 PM
Starbucks adopting pour-over brewing method, StarbucksMelody.com reports
Feb 8, 10 - 12:59 PM
Starbucks' new heart cup reminds customers of its partnership with (Red) to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa
Feb 5, 10 - 6:21 PM
Coffee wrap-up for the weekend
Feb 4, 10 - 1:39 PM
Starbucks shareholders to vote on recycling proposal


- Steve Kelley | My treatment of Bedard has been unfair
- Is Washington's tax exemption on bullion a gold mine?
- 747-8 soars smoothly on first outing
- Super Bowl ads: Betty White, Bud Light, big laughs
- Man found shot dead in pickup truck in Seattle
- Alaska Air dropping Jones Soda beverages, going back to Coca-Cola
- Sex, drug rumors swirl about N.Y. Gov. Paterson
- Lewis-McChord soldier charged with abusing 4-year-old over alphabet lesson
- Seattle is first U.S. stop for Picasso exhibit
- Husky Football Blog | Pac-10 expansion to get consideration over next year
- Republicans may be no-shows at health-plan summit
274 - Pac-10 expansion to get consideration over next year
248 - State Senate votes to clear way for tax increases
224 - Obama: GOP and Dems together can spur job growth
208 - Fort Lewis soldier charged with abusing 4-year-old, holding her head in water
193 - Lee undergoes foot surgery
184 - Rivals names Martin one of Pac-10's best recruiters
143 - Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year
126 - White House mocks Sarah Palin from podium
84 - Tobacco ban in Seattle parks affirms citizen right to breathe smoke-free air
82
- Seattle is first U.S. stop for Picasso exhibit
- 747-8 soars smoothly on first outing
- City, Vulcan push higher South Lake Union height limits
- Commentary: Microsoft's creative destruction
- Snap out of your photo funk: How to make sense of all those piles of images
- Wine Adviser | Oregon's quality pinots join the bargain ranks
- Belltown boulevard could be completed by early next year
- All You Can Eat | Portage chef Vuong Loc takes Cremant space in Madrona
- Jerry Large | Learning not to copy China
- Rigorous college-prep classes skyrocketing in Washington state



