Starbucks Brand Abandonment and Brand Re-Capture, All in one Motion

I enjoy dusting off Starbucks’ CEO Howard Shultz’s book, Pour Your Heart Into Itfrom time to time. Reading it reminds me of when Starbucks was Starbucks. You remember, Schultz’s third place, what he describes as an “inviting, stimulating sometimes soulful respite from the pressures of work and home.” That concept has been a passing memory as Starbucks focused on selling more stuff. At least it was a passing memory.

Starbucks Raises the White Flag While Simultaneously Charging Forward

Earlier this year, Starbucks opened the 15th Ave Coffee & Tea store to test a new concept. Actually it was the old Starbucks concept but under a new name. The coffee giant wanted to return to its roots, but knew the public would no longer buy the Starbucks as a third place sales pitch. Trying to do so would create brand confusion. So they gave up on trying to re-brand the old stores. Instead, the solution is to unveil the old heritage with a new name.

Now comes the news that there will be more of this new/old concept. with the opening of Roy Street Coffee & Tea in Seattle. To quote from the Starbucks internal memo about the opening, “As customers visit our stores, we hope they’ll feel a deeper connection to coffee, an enhances sense of community and a greater level of commitment to environmental consciousness.”

That sounds like the old Starbucks to me.