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</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Amazing the fix Starbucks finds themselves in now!&nbsp; Of course, anyone in our line of work will be paying attention to this profound change of fortune for this iconic brand. What happened?&nbsp; I 've read a great deal about this, in the main-stream media, the trade press, and the marketing blogs ad infinitum.



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<p>I can't help getting my two cents in on this. What happened?&nbsp; Starbucks is closing stores!&nbsp; 600 of em... who'da thought. Besides the obvious reasons for the turn of fortune:</p>

<p>-&nbsp; ubiquitous expansion<br />-&nbsp; diluting the brand essence with this extension idea and that <br />&nbsp; &nbsp;food item<br />-&nbsp; taking out the couches to fit more people in line<br />-&nbsp; the demands of Wall Street for bigger returns on investment<br />-&nbsp; blah, blah, blah</p>

<p>I have my idea as to what is happening to Starbucks. </p>

<p>Bringing back the silly old logo as a way of saying to the masses &quot;hey we're back to what made of us good in the first place&quot;.&nbsp; Nope, too little, too late for the 600 stores and thousands of unemployed baristas.&nbsp; I'm thinking something else more insidious is doing in this brand legend.</p>

<p>Gasoline prices...</p>

<p>We are in a brave new world where people now choose between the $4+ non fat, double expresso latte on the drive to work...or the $4+ gallon of gas to get to work.&nbsp; It's simple economics.&nbsp; You can't blame Starbucks circumstances&nbsp; on poor marketing. To me this is a no-brainer. The context in which this brand has prospered has changed. The cost of gasoline is changing the game for every &quot;lifestyle&quot; brand. People simply will find more affordable ways to get a cup o' joe in the morning.&nbsp; The economic model on which Starbucks prosperity has been based is no longer relevant to the context in which customers are now living their lives.&nbsp; </p>

<p>For Starbucks, and a host of other brand marketers who depend on a vigorous consumer economy for their viability, it's a new ball game. Looking back to the good ol days won't fix it.</p>
