Extended Essays 2021

Methodology

To investigate the failure of Starbucks in Australia research was conducted solely through secondary sources.

These sources included websites, case studies, books, academic journals, industry analyses and Starbucks

company reports and data. Reliable news articles and blog posts were also used to gain an understanding of

the customer perception of Starbucks.

In order to answer the research question “To what extent can the failure of Starbucks’ expansion into Australia

be attributed to its marketing strategies” the impact of the GFC and Starbucks’ growth strategy were

investigated . How these factors influenced Starbucks’ expansion into China and the expansion of its

competitors into Australia were analysed and compared to Starbucks. This allowed a deeper understanding of

the GFC’s impact when successful growth and marketing strategies were employed.

Theory Used

This essay will be applying theory from Unit 4 of the Business and Management syllabus, Marketing.

Starbucks’ consideration of its market demographic, geographic and psychographic segmentation were

analysed in conjunction with the utilisation of a positioning map. This enabled examination of Starbucks’

target market and market segmentation and how inability to understand this led to its failure. Each element of

Starbucks ’ marketing mix and public relations strategy, specifically in Australia, will then be examined

utilising an ANSOFF matrix and marketing channel diagram to understand the extent to which Starbucks ’

marketing strategies caused its failure in Australia. Furthermore, Starbucks ’ growth strategy will then be

analysed by utilising the product life-cycle and numerical data to understand how this growth strategy

influenced Starbucks ’ expansion into Australia. To understand the extent to which Starbucks ’ marketing

strategy led to its failure in Australia , a comparison between Starbucks’ competitors and Starbucks’ expansion

into China will be made.

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