This week, the weather finally decided to match the season, leaving Villanovans with runny noses, bundled clothing, and a thirst for anything pumpkin themed. Autumn calls for consumers to find interests in the chilling weather that is not-too-cold. It allows us to drink hot coffee without relying on it as a necessity for survival in a winter blizzard. Overall, fall brings a sense of relaxation. However, looking at the activity of the Starbucks stock in the past week, the coffee industry was not necessarily relaxed in their efforts.
The first glimpse at the declination in the Starbucks company is the declining slope of the stock over the past week. Below is a representation of the stock over the Monday through Friday period.
The stock appeared to take one of the lowest dips it has seen since the beginning of the blog. However, to gain more of a perspective on the stock, I looked at the trends of the company for the past year to date. After looking at the trends, it appears as if the stock grew from the beginning of the year until the beginning of September.
Oddly enough, I believe that the declination in the stock might be a result of the seasons changing. Most people turn to Starbucks to enjoy a cold beverage over the summer. Now that the weather is beginning to drop into sweater weather, the frequency of cold drink purchases is beginning to decline. As previously mentioned in one of my past blog posts, Starbucks tends to dominate the industry of cold brew and iced coffee. With less purchases of these goods, this could be a contributing factor to the declining stock.
Other than the stock, Starbucks has mostly stayed out of the news this week other than one story. A Starbucks customer filed a lawsuit against the company because their drink was made with almond milk, a product that the customer was allergic to. Most clients have “their drink,” meaning that baristas know their customized order whenever they enter the store. Below includes an infographic about what goes into each beverage and the opportunities available for a customer to customize their drink.
Customers can change any detail about each of these drinks, and this specific customer knew exactly what to change about their caffe latte to avoid a severe allergic reaction. The barista, on the other hand, did not pay as close attention to the request to change the milk. Unfortunately, this will have negative consequences on the company in the coming weeks, and it will be interesting to see how this issue settles.
Overall, I believe that this controversy is a prime example of how corporations overall are responsible for the actions of their employees. Of course, Starbucks does not plan on putting their customers’ lives at risk, but one mistake from an employee can put the entire company in jeopardy.
With the conclusion of that story, I believe that the recap of Starbucks’ activity this week has come to an end. This week, I suggest for all of you coffee lovers to enjoy a salted caramel mocha frappuccino. I personally am a fan of salted caramel, and the mocha adds more dimension to the flavor of this drink. Below I have included my sources for this week’s post. I look forward to recapping next week. Happy caffeinating!
Jenna Kurtz 