Coffeeislife

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Starbucks: the future isn’t brew-tiful
Coffeeislife
Posted on November 15, 2017 at 9:56 pm
Coffee is under attack. Can Starbucks save the day?

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On December 1, 2017, Coffeeislife commented on Disruption of Video Game Retailers :

Great article! Agree with many of your points but I do think there could still be some space for video game retailers if they move away from just being a middle man between suppliers and customers and instead become a experience provider. By providing gaming events or inviting famous gamers into stores they can differentiate themselves enough from digital providers to still have appeal to customers.

Amazon’s opening of bookstores provides an example of the relevance of experience!

https://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellenduffer/2017/09/26/amazon-is-opening-more-bookstores/&refURL=https://www.google.com/&referrer=https://www.google.com/

On December 1, 2017, Coffeeislife commented on Digitalizing the art trade: Sotheby’s became friends with eBay, but can it warm up to blockchain? :

So interesting! While I agree with some other comments that Sotheby’s essentially operates an easily copy-able and inefficient middle-man business, I’m still saddened that this powerhouse’s business model in under attack. There is something to be said for the name and its process in making one feel a sense of extravagance when dropping millions on art. That said I think Sotheby’s has no choice but to adapt or risk becoming irrelevant. The name and experience they provide will probably buy them some time – but not a lot.

On December 1, 2017, Coffeeislife commented on Brexit vs. Tesco: Will Britain’s Largest Grocer Stand the Ultimate Test? :

Great read. I agree with you on the impacts of shifting FX on British retailers but worth noting that there are other issues to consider too: tariffs for example (if the UK moves toward a harder Brexit, I expect to see high tariffs being placed on imports). This will hit all retailers, including Tesco hard – whether this will lead them to increase prices to customers or squeeze suppliers is yet to be seen.

Recent events across the globe show us it’s almost impossible to predict how hard or soft the Brexit agreement will end up; the best thing Tesco can do is to band together with other retailers and lobby, lobby lobby!!!

I wish them luck.

On December 1, 2017, Coffeeislife commented on Impact of Isolationism on Manufacturing Strategy of Ford Motor Company :

Great read. I agree with you and hope that Ford doesn’t make too many decisions based on a short term term view since administrations are fluid and they are not in a position to make useful guesses on the future political climate. That said I think they should probably do what they can to mitigate risk by building plants that can be readily switched for another use.

On December 1, 2017, Coffeeislife commented on The Bottomless Cup: Nespresso’s Bid to Save Coffee From Climate Change :

What a great read Mr President! I’m glad Nespresso has taken its responsibilities to climate change seriously. Something that strikes me is that many of their initiatives are similar to those of Starbucks; I wonder if these coffee power houses could come together to collaborate on solutions and promote their good work. Hopefully this will accelerate change and make headway in bringing the rest of the industry up to speed.

On December 1, 2017, Coffeeislife commented on Reforming Retail: Reformation’s Fashion-Forward Approach to Sustainability :

Super interesting! Whenever I’ve thought about climate change, fashion has never entered my head. Some quick googling has quickly made me realize how wrong I’ve been; fashion is the 2nd largest polluting industry globally! I agree with your worries about the difficulties they’ll face as they begin to seriously scale. Something they might consider as they take this journey is to emulate brands like Primark who have a number of sustainability initiatives currently:

https://www.primark.com/en/our-ethics
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/primark-sustainable-cotton-line_uk_5989cf67e4b0449ed50592f2