re: Peet's Straight-up

HeatherLeigh — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 12:46:39 GMT

It sounded like the bean sales were high. I do think that Peet's has positioned themselves on ths high end. I think that scarcity could have a little to do with it. People are accustomed to SBUX but they probably feel that they are giving themselves a treat when they get beans at Peet's.

I guess I can only speak for myself for the most part. But I do think that I am probably representative of their customer base. I don't get in the car and drive somewhere for a coffee drink but if I am already out and about, I'll get something. For that reason, SBUX is a more likely choice because they are everywhere. However when it comes to beans that are going to last me a while, I'll definitely get in the car and if I am going to do that, I want a better tasting product.

I'm probably not a typical Starbucks customer because I don't drink all the sugary stuff. I think SBUX can draw a lot of people in with the blended drinks and the teas ands things, but not so much someone like me. I have a friend that works at Starbucks corporate and tells me how many pumps of syrup go into some things. I just can't do that to myself, If I am going to have that much sugar (which is very rare), I am going to chew it :) So I wonder if maybe some of the other Peet's customers are the same where they are more focused on making their own drink at home than the wide varitey of different drinks.

You are right about the difference in promo posters, etc. The Peet's experience is more clean, quiet and relaxing. Starbucks is a bit of sensory overload. I'm not really tempted to sit down and stay a while (maybe they want it that way). It's a significantly different experience.

I'll have to take your word for the % of posts regarding Starbucks. I subscribe to yoor feed so obviously I like the posts about Starbucks but I definitely think of you as the Starbucks marketing guy : ) I definitely admire the company as a brand.

re: Peet's Straight-up

john moore (from Brand Autopsy) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 06:01:13 GMT

Heather, I was also impressed with O'Dea's candidness and easy-gong style.

I agree with you that Peet's stores are more low-key and less distracting that Starbucks stores. Next time you visit Peet's make a point to count the number of promotional posters, banners, and counter card signs. Do the same at Starbucks. You'll notice a major difference.

Something I found remarkable in the interview was that O'Dea said the typical Peet's location does almost 40% of its sales in whole bean coffee. THAT'S VERY HIGH. My Starbucks marketing experience tells me that as a % of store sales, whole bean sales at Starbucks is considerably less.

And yeah ... I do blog a lot about my former employer. I spent eight-years there and to an extent still bleed green. However, I just checked and 64 of my 891 posts are focused squarely on Starbucks. That's just 7.2% of all posts.