Why go to Starbucks for coffee?

For me, who love coffee, Starbucks has always been a good choice under the dual requirements of saving time and enjoying delicacy, at least under the office building of Jiahua International in Hangzhou, where I used to work, or under the national building in downtown.

When Starbucks first entered China, the Financial Times conducted a special survey, saying that drinking a cup of Starbucks coffee in China was obviously more fashionable than buying a piece of Victoria's Secret international brand-name underwear. For the Chinese at that time, sitting among a group of coffee drinkers, whether on their cell phones or surfing the Internet, it was known that at Starbucks, inner vanity could expand innumerably. For a long time, this green LOGO was my taste buds "gas station" both day and night.

But now in Hangzhou, young people who like nightlife are more likely to choose McDonald's, because McDonald's has the advantage of being open 24 hours a day and having a rich choice of food, while Starbucks is only open until midnight on weekends, except coffee. Only desserts and sandwiches that can't be eaten are very expensive compared with McDonald's.

There is no doubt that many people in Hangzhou love coffee, and what is really loved is "caffeine", because most Hangzhou people use coffee as a refreshing drink, which is similar to functional drinks such as tea, Coca-Cola or Red Bull.

Standing in the center of the overpass of CBD Wulin Square in Hangzhou, to the east is Starbucks' first store in Hangzhou (Yintai Store), and to the west is another store under the skirt of Radisson Slavyanskaya Hotel & Business Center, in this bustling triangle, you can see McDonald's and KFC across the street. Although Starbucks claims to bring consumers a unique coffee shop cultural experience, too dense stores can easily make people feel that this is actually another chain giant selling standard food, no different from fast-food chains such as McDonald's and KFC, except for higher prices.

By February 2006, Starbucks had more than 9000 stores worldwide, and none of the 10 countries with the largest number of Starbucks stores had a long history and culture of coffee. In contrast, there are tens of thousands of small coffee shops in Italy, but not a Starbucks branch.

The stock market is a barometer of corporate value. In 2007, Starbucks' single-store sales fell for the first time in more than a decade, and the company's share price fell. In January 2008, Starbucks shares fell more than 50%, and founder Schultz returned as CEO in an attempt to turn the tide. Due to the sluggish economic environment in the United States, Starbucks' financial statements released in May showed that the company's second-quarter profit fell 28%, which may be in danger of falling full-year profits for the first time since 2000. In July of this year, Starbucks's share price has fallen to a peak of 1 in 2006, returning to the level of 2003. In 2003, Starbucks had only 7000 stores worldwide, compared with 15000 today. I observed that Starbucks was quietly cutting costs, the mixing bars were replaced with plastic, and Nestle milk became a new hope made in China, and even the cup holder was replaced with cheap goods. Meanwhile, McDonald's share price has tripled from its trough in 2003 to July this year.

It is no exaggeration to say that Starbucks coffee taste is not as magical as it advertised, although it can provide a variety of coffee, but I find that my friends often order only a few. Compared to the noisy environment of Starbucks, I now choose to go to the quiet Costa coffee by the West Lake. compared with the "coffee religion" characterized by the "Starbucks experience", the traditional Italian coffee culture advocated by Costa is at least relatively fresh.

Shan Yanrong, a special contributor to the Chinese website of the Financial Times, "lifestyle"

(responsible Editor: Leo)