According to reports by the Seattle Times and Silicon Alley Insider, it seems that Starbucks will be dramatically cutting back on its CD and DVD sales, with the coffee chain dumping most of its impulse-buy CD and DVD racks by September.Seems that Starbucks finally realized they should stick with what they know (overpriced coffee), and leave the selling of music and movies to companies like HMV. You know, actual music stores.
A wise lesson for any business, really. Just because you can shove it in their faces when they come up to the cash register doesn't mean the customer will buy it. People go to your store for a certain reason -- to Starbucks to buy coffee, to McDonald's to buy a burger, to Holmes Heating to buy heating and air conditioning.
The products you sell help to create your company brand in the mind of the public -- and there's no reason to ignore your strengths and your history in an attempt to cash in on the latest trends by offering products and services that you have no business offering in the first place.
Now, I'm not saying that businesses should never try something new. But if you're going to expand into new markets, maybe it's best to keep it in the same atmosphere as what you're already known for. Apple Computers starts selling music players and cell phones? Okay, sure, it's all electronic stuff. Makes sense. Starbucks starts selling CDs? Sorry, not really seeing the connection ...
Sigh. Looks like we won't end up with the Starbucks as depicted in the movie Idiocracy, where it was a combination coffee shop and brothel. Oh well. Perhaps that's for the best.
