Weakness
Starbucks chargers its servings at premium prices. As the cost of living in Malaysia is rising,
Consumers are less likely to visit the Starbucks outlets as they are becoming more price
conscious (Euromonitor, 2017) . In addition, Starbucks products are also imitable. Competitors
such as San Francisco coffee, Café Bene, Coffee Beans and McCafe can easily imitate
Starbucks products and charge them at a lower price. Therefore, Starbucks has introduce
price related promotional strategies such as holiday gift packages, loyalty card with bonus
points as well as discounts on breakfast menu’s to keep the existing customers to visit the
allow outlets as well as to attract the new ones and to differentiate itself from the competitors
(Huang, Chang, Yeh, & Liao, 2014) .
Other than that, As Starbucks is the leader in the Coffeehouse industry, there is a chance that
Starbucks may become too confident with its position in the marketplace (Karaduman &
Sehrawala, 2015). This could potentially be damaging for the company in the as this may
hinder the company’s innovative strategies in the long run.
Opportunities
While Growing concerns of health among Malaysians can be consider as a threat, it can create
an opportunity for a new product development. In response to the increasing health awareness
in Malaysia, Starbucks has the option to expand its product offerings by introducing additional
tea servings to address the health awareness among Malaysians (Euromonitor, 2017). In
addition, there is also a strong growth in the Mobile shopping in Malaysia as the usage of
mobile application among Malaysians has increase due to its convenience, ease of usage and
increase in availability (Malaysian Digest, 2015).
Therefore, there is an opportunity for Starbucks to improve its mobile application by increasing
its stability and adding additional features for the convenience of its customers. As a result,
Starbucks will be able to fulfil its goal of building a stronger customer relationship in 2017
(Euromonitor, 2017).
Threats
Although the coffee culture is high in Malaysia, the threat of new entrance is high relatively
high due to the growth of independent Coffee shops. In 2016, there was a 10% growth of the
independent coffee shops and this is a threat to Starbucks as these coffee shops offers variety
of beverages, foods and set meals at low prices.
Due to these offerings, Malaysians are attracted to visit these independent coffee shops and
thus a threat to the Starbucks. Moreover, there is also a shift in lifestyles among Malaysians
as they are becoming more health conscious. Due to this Malaysians are reducing their intake
of caffeine and began taking an alternative and healthier options (Euromonitor, 2017). This
may reduce the coffee intake among Malaysians despite of the strong coffee culture in
Malaysia.
6-
Customer Analysis
As stated in the Social aspect of the PESTEL analysis, drinking coffee has become a trend
among Malaysians. This section of the report will examine the customers of Starbucks.
