Chinanews.com, Beijing, December 15 (Zuo Yuqing) Recently, Starbucks, which has always advertised the implementation of the "gold standard", overturned due to the exposure of its Wuxi store to privately change ingredient labels and use expired ingredients.

　　Although Starbucks closed the two stores involved, the supervision department found that in the other 82 Starbucks stores in Wuxi City, employees did not wear work caps, the items in the processing area were placed in disorder, and the disinfection records were incomplete. Wait 15 questions.

　　What happened to Starbucks?

Internal supervision failure

　　Unlike the brand franchise stores that have had food safety issues in the past, all of Starbucks' over 5,300 stores in China are directly operated stores.

　　"Compared with franchise chain, its advantage lies in its strong controllability, because its system, framework, and operation mode are unified." Professor of Capital University of Economics and Business, Private Enterprise Research of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Researcher Jiang Zezhong of the center said that in addition to controllability, direct sales chains also have scale advantages such as low cost, strong execution, and convenient uniform training for employees.

Data map: A Starbucks store in Guangzhou.

Photo by Cheng Jingwei

　　However, the internal monitoring of the advantages of Starbucks' direct operation model has "failed."

　　In accordance with Starbucks regulations, its stores must conduct food safety self-inspections every day, and the management team and food safety team will regularly conduct internal audits of regional stores.

Each store accepts at least one third-party surprise inspection every year, and 20% of the stores accept the second unannounced inspection.

　　In Wuxi stores, although there is a superior inspection every half a month, because there is only one inspector, the clerk has plenty of time to dispose of expired ingredients before the inspector finds it, or quickly replace it with a new shelf life label.

　　Jiang Zezhong also believes that the so-called "flying inspections" are periodic, and there are actually gaps in store operations.

"From the perspective of operation and management, companies can consider using'internal customers' and social supervision to strengthen supervision."

High price = high quality?

　　Although Starbucks’ food safety issues have been "real hammered", the comments on its Weibo have been noisy.

　　While many netizens accused them of using expired ingredients for a cup of coffee for 40 yuan, some people have repeatedly emphasized that “Starbucks’ high standards for food safety are industry benchmarks. This time it should be an individual case.” “Thirty to forty yuan sells brand value. , Tens of thousands of stores around the world are not open for nothing."

　　Why are the comments of netizens so divided?

　　As a coffee brand that takes the mid-to-high-end route, drinking Starbucks seems to be a symbol of consumption power. Many people have some "Starbucks complex". For a drink, I also respectfully call him a Starbucks shareholder."

　　A consumer who works in a large company told Chinanews that when his company colleagues asked each other for coffee, they only ordered Starbucks.

"I don't feel embarrassed to order anything else."

Data map: photo by Liu Xiao

　　For the respect of consumers, Starbucks has always emphasized its "high price and high quality".

Its official website clearly states: "Starbucks has always taken the'humanistic spirit' as the starting point and used its tireless ingenuity to provide customers with a high-quality coffee experience, and food safety is the cornerstone of all this." "Based on the highest industry standards, it has formulated and Strictly implement the Starbucks Food Safety Gold Standard."

　　Driven by profits, however, Starbucks stores used expired ingredients with peace of mind on the grounds that “the company has to assess the store’s turnover and profit margins. If the cost of ingredients is too high, these data will be unsightly”.

Will the Starbucks brand status be shaken?

　　According to iiMedia Consulting's data, the size of China's coffee market will be about 381.7 billion yuan in 2021. Coffee is gradually becoming popular in the lives of Chinese consumers. China's coffee market has entered a stage of rapid development. It is estimated that the size of China's coffee market will reach 100 billion yuan in 2025.

　　China has also become the fastest growing and largest market for Starbucks.

The financial report disclosed by Starbucks shows that its global revenue in 2021 will exceed 29 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of approximately 23.6%.

Among them, comparable store sales in the Chinese market increased by 17%.

　　However, as a result, some consumers reported that compared with the past, Starbucks’ quality control is declining: “In recent years, the hygiene on the table has been poor, service and communication skills are almost absent. Lord, don’t pay attention to the taste."

　　"In recent years, the domestic coffee industry has developed rapidly, and its substitutes are also occupying its original market, such as cheaper tea restaurants." Jiang Zezhong pointed out that for Starbucks, the market competition pressure it faces is still great.

　　"If a brand wants to maintain its brand influence, it must adhere to its own brand connotation. For the food industry, the freshness and quality of food is the most basic connotation." Jiang Zezhong believes that food safety issues must not damage the brand image. Estimated.

　　Are you still willing to pay for Starbucks?

(Finish)