NEW
YORK(July 7,2008) - One coffee drinker's bad news
is another coffee drinker's good news, it seems.
Financial woes at Starbucks Corp., which is planning to close 600
underperforming U.S. stores, is evoking glee and little sympathy from
aficionados who say they resent the coffee shop giant and favor small
independent cafes.
"I'm so happy. I'm so not a Starbucks person," said Melinda
Vigliotti, sipping iced coffee at the Irving Farm Coffee House in
New York. "I believe in supporting small businesses. Starbucks,
bye-bye."
"Amen," chimed in Keith DiLauro, a local caterer. "They
went too big, too fast."
Seattle-based Starbucks burst onto the national scene in the 1990s
and grew to more than 6,000 locations around the world. But with cups
of coffee that can cost several dollars, it faces a slowing economy
and slowed consumer spending. "Starbucks
has really created a coffee culture, raising awareness of good coffee,
which is good for independents," said Carol Watson, owner of
the Milk and Honey coffee shop in Chicago. "But on the other
hand, they're on practically every corner, and that makes it tough
on the little guy too."
In Birmingham, Alabama, retiree Peggy Bonfield, drinking coffee
at the Crestwood Coffee Shop, said: "When a Starbucks closes,
it makes room for a local business to start.
"I consider that good news," she said.
The schadenfreude of coffee drinkers drawing satisfaction from another's
misfortune is part of the popular culture that enjoys the downfall
of companies or celebrities, said Jim Carroll, a Canadian-based
trends and innovation expert.
"There are a lot of people out there who take delight in seeing
an icon torn down by the masses," he said.
Starbucks fell victim to a rapid change in attitude, fueled by Internet
bloggers complaining endlessly about everything from layoffs to
its breakfast sandwiches, he said.
"Starbucks was a cool brand, and then all of a sudden it's
not a cool brand," he said. "There's this new global consciousness
that is out there that can suddenly shift."
CAFE CULTURE
Indeed, said Pye Parson, who hails from Seattle and works at Birmingham's
Crestwood, "Once it went corporate, it wasn't Starbucks anymore."
New York Web designer Zachary Thacher, who favors Greenwich Village's
cafes, said he avoids Starbucks. "They've commoditized cafe
culture, which is why I don't go," he said.
The environmental movement toward buying and appreciating locally
grown products has helped neighborhood cafes and hurt the myriad
look-a-like Starbucks stores, said Judy Ramberg, a consumer strategist
at Iconoculture, a Minneapolis-based trend research company.
The company that began as innovative is now known for consistency
and convenience, she said. "To me, that's a huge step down,"
she said. "You've built your franchise on people who are coming
in because they know exactly what they want."
Precisely, said Justin Sergi, explaining why he preferred Lux, a
cafe in Phoenix serving lattes with a fern-like pattern teased from
steamed milk in ceramic cups, over Starbucks.
"The people that work there are very pleasant, but the stores
are devoid of any kind of real charm or personality," he said.
"They push a button, and a machine does everything from grinding
the beans to brewing the drink."
It's not as though Starbucks doesn't have defenders,
"It's convenient," said Anthony Castro, sitting in a Starbucks
near his job at New York's Museum of Modern Art. "I know what
to expect."
In Birmingham, Crestwood regular Gary Adkins said he felt Starbucks
gave employees good salaries and benefits. But now Starbucks' plans
call for cutting up to 12,000 full- and part-time positions.
Not everyone felt strongly. "It's just coffee," said Marc
Poulin, a systems administrator at Zibetto Espresso Bar in New York.
"If I was an investor, I'd care."
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