Starbucks’ Michigan Strategy

Starbucks Corp. (Seattle) has indicated plans to double its number of stores in the state of Michigan.

According to Crain’s Detroit Business, the retailer – which already has 200 different outlets in the state after 10 years – will be using the expansion plan as a competitive gambit. “We actually have a very, very competitive environment here in Michigan,” Joe Dallacqua, regional vp for Starbucks' Great Lakes and New England regions, told Crain’s.

He cited McDonald's Corp. (Oak Brook, Ill.), which recently launched an improved line of coffee, the growing presence of Dunkin Donuts (Canton, Mass.) and such other specialty coffee chains as Caribou Coffee Co. (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) and the local Coffee Beanery (Flushing, Mich.).

In Michigan, Starbucks’ points of distribution include 106 coffee shops and another 94 smaller locations in places such as Target and Kroger stores, or the locations at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Its first Michigan store came in February 1997 when the Somerset Collection's Somerset North expansion opened in Troy, Mich.

As of July 1, 2007, there were 14,396 Starbucks locations worldwide. The company's goal is to eventually reach 40,000 locations worldwide. During the third quarter, 668 Starbucks locations opened, a company record.