Stealth Starbucks

A stealth Starbucks is a Starbucks coffeehouse which does not advertise the Starbucks brand. These stores are operated in Metropolitan areas to do market research on how customers react to experiments in coffee service and coffeehouse design.

Appearance

The stores do not exhibit the icons of the Starbucks brand, including the mermaid logo, the green aprons for baristas, and the odd Starbucks' specific "tall, grande, venti" coffee size terminology.[1] The door of the coffeehouse says, "Inspired by Starbucks".[1]

Locations

The first Stealth Starbucks opened in 2009.[2] In that year, at least three stores in Seattle were de-branded to remove the logo and brand name, and remodel the stores as local coffee houses "inspired by Starbucks."[3][4] CEO Howard Schultz says the unbranded stores are a "laboratory for Starbucks".[5] The first, 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea, opened in July 2009 on Capitol Hill. It served wine and beer, and hosted live music and poetry readings.[6] It has since been remodeled and reopened as a Starbucks-branded store. Another is Roy Street Coffee and Tea at 700 Broadway E., also on Capitol Hill. Although the stores have been called "stealth Starbucks"[3][7] and criticized as "local-washing",[8] Schultz says that "It wasn't so much that we were trying to hide the brand, but trying to do things in those stores that we did not feel were appropriate for Starbucks."[5]

On the second floor of Macy's Herald Square in New York City has a non-branded Starbucks store,[9] called the Herald Square Cafe.[10]

People in Chicago said that they would not welcome a stealth Starbucks in their city.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Oppmann, Patrick (6 January 2010). "I spy a 'stealth Starbucks' - CNN.com". cnn.com. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Reed, Drew (January 14, 2015). "Your local indie coffee shop may be a Stealth Starbucks". citymetric.com. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 Kiesler, Sara (August 27, 2009). "Capitol Hill to get a second stealth Starbucks". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  4. ↑ Berfield, Susan (August 6, 2009). "Starbucks: Howard Schultz vs. Howard Schultz". BusinessWeek. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  5. 1 2 McElhatton, Noelle (February 2, 2010). "Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz on marketing". Marketing Magazine. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
  6. ↑ Allison, Melissa (July 16, 2009). "Starbucks tests new names for stores". Seattle Times. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  7. ↑ Simon, Scott (July 25, 2009). "Starbucks Goes Into Stealth Mode". NPR. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  8. ↑ Eaves, Elizabeth (August 21, 2009). "How Locavores Brought On Local-Washing". Forbes. Retrieved September 14, 2009.
  9. ↑ Merwin, Hugh (21 May 2012). "Stealth’ Starbucks Will Serve Beer and Wine Inside Renovated Macy’s". grubstreet.com. New York (magazine). Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Herald Square Cafe - Midtown West - New York, NY'". Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  11. ↑ Johnson, Steve (July 17, 2009). "Stealth Starbucks: Seattle-based coffee giant opening neighborhood shops in disguise - Chicago Tribune". articles.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, December 15, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.