GorillaOffTopic, Everything But Gorilla Trades

Human nature will always dictate that too much of anything is, well, not a good thing, right? Well, in the case of the Gorilla’s beloved Starbuck’s, that certainly seems to be ringing true. The Gorilla won’t get into numbers or sales figures, but suffice it to say, that even this “super power” company may be succumbing to the power of over saturation. And now the company seems to be drowning in its own coffee!

The Gorilla won’t contest the fact that the product is simply delightful, and has been the absolute darling of the public, and yes, the establishments are quite cozy and inviting. So, what seems to be the problem? Well, quite simply, there are several things: First off, have you been to a McDonald’s lately? Now you don’t need the Gorilla to tell you about McDonald’s coffee and the Gorilla certainly didn’t need the media to inform him about the quality of it either! Not only is McDonald’s coffee delicious- it’s much less expensive too! Could this be a big selling point with consumers? Well, heck yeah it could be- and most likely it is to those who aren’t so motivated in this tough economy to dish out $4 for a cup of java- no matter how good it is! 

That is yet another factor which could be hurting the coffee giant so the question is….could a recession push the coffee king over the cliff? In addition, with it’s now 15,000 locations, Starbucks, which has, by far, been the leading global purveyor of coffee, may very well have watered down (pun intended) the market. With McDonald’s planning to open coffee bars in each of it’s fast food chains, your guess is as good as the Gorilla’s as to how well Starbuck’s will fare in the competition! One thing is for sure though, Howard Shultz (the original CEO, current Chairman, and newly named …as of Monday…CEO again) sure has his work cut out for him.  Good luck!