After driving away the police, Starbucks announced a price increase. How long can it continue to be arrogant in the country?

Starbucks’ “high-end” label in the country is being torn off step by step by its own hands.

Recently, a police officer in Chongqing reported that he and three colleagues were eating box lunches in the dining area outside a Starbucks store while on duty. Afterwards, a Starbucks employee asked them to "eat somewhere else" and believed that these police officers would affect Starbucks' "brand image."

Later, there was news that the police officers involved were even complained by Starbucks. It is understood that the four police officers had cleaned the scene thoroughly, but they were still complained about, which made the majority of netizens even more indignant about the incident.

Starbucks later responded that other customers also wanted to sit in the dining area outside the store that afternoon, so they communicated with the police to coordinate seating matters. However, due to inappropriate words, there was a misunderstanding in communication, and "there was no situation of 'driving away the police' or 'complaining against the police'."

It is not difficult for those who pay attention to find that Starbucks’ statements on similar incidents often have the same structure: first, “the results after investigation,” followed by a brief apology, and finally an expression of Starbucks’ dedicated service over the years and the recognition it has received.

This kind of "three-part argument" statement will naturally seem particularly perfunctory after being used for a long time. Therefore, after the statement was issued, netizens' doubts have not subsided: Since they were trying to persuade the police to leave, why did they say "it affects the store's image"? In the cold winter weather, would there really be customers who want to dine outside the store?

Perhaps it is because Starbucks' relatively high prices in China have given them the illusion that they are "high-end", which has led to such an extremely arrogant move, which is also the core reason why netizens are generally angry about this matter. What's more ironic is that Starbucks no longer has much capital to continue to be arrogant.

Last December, two Starbucks stores in Wuxi tampered with the expiration date, used expired ingredients, and put back on the shelves pastries that had not been kept overnight after opening. For this, the two stores were fined 670,000 yuan and 690,000 yuan respectively, and were suspended for rectification. Earlier, Starbucks stores in Shenzhen, Guangdong, Changde, Hunan and other places had also been fined for selling expired food.

Starbucks' service attitude has also caused dissatisfaction among many netizens. Discussions about "Starbucks' poor service attitude" can be seen everywhere on the Internet, and they always get a lot of responses. Also in Chongqing, before the incident of driving away the police, Starbucks had been sued for consumer disputes. Therefore, the "medium cup, large cup, extra large cup" video shot by Luo Yonghao many years ago has gradually evolved into a footnote to Starbucks' arrogance and poor service attitude.

Against the backdrop of such frequent negative events, Starbucks’ performance in China has become less optimistic.

According to Starbucks' first quarter financial report for fiscal year 2022 (statistical date is October 4, 2021 to January 2, 2022), during this quarter, Starbucks' domestic same-store sales, average customer unit price and transaction volume all declined, with declines of 14%, 9% and 6% respectively.

Faced with the continued decline in these sales indicators, Starbucks' solution is to raise prices. Since October 2021, Starbucks has raised prices twice in China, the latest of which occurred a few days after the police were driven away. The prices of many products, including American coffee and latte, have increased by 1-2 yuan compared to before.

Price increases will naturally have a certain impact on sales, and with negative news emerging frequently, Starbucks' current round of price increases is likely to backfire.

At the same time, Starbucks faces tremendous competitive pressure.

According to Luckin Coffee's latest public financial report, in the third quarter of 2021, the company's total revenue reached 2.35 billion yuan, an increase of 105.6% over the same period last year, and its net loss also dropped significantly by 98.6%. In addition, Luckin's expansion speed still shows no signs of slowing down. As of the end of the third quarter, Luckin's number of stores has reached 5,671, surpassing Starbucks' 5,557. At the same time, Luckin's average monthly transaction customers also increased by 79.2% year-on-year.

You know, Starbucks' strategy is to achieve rapid expansion by opening a large number of new stores, but now Luckin Coffee has taken the lead in the same way. The main reason is that the choices of the younger generation of consumers have changed.

In the minds of young people, Starbucks' "high-end, petty bourgeoisie" image is gradually being dispelled. In fact, the reason is not difficult to understand. Take Luckin Coffee, which quickly opened up the market with its low prices, for example. They use the same variety of Arabica coffee beans as Starbucks, and the processing method is also deep roasting. The so-called taste difference is probably more psychological.

In this case, why would you spend more than 30 yuan on Starbucks instead of Luckin Coffee, which is obviously more cost-effective? Is it because Starbucks is an import? You know, in the United States, where Starbucks originated, it often appears in the form of mobile stalls. How much does this image have to do with high-end?

To be honest, Luckin Coffee's corporate image is not very good, and the impact of bad behavior such as financial fraud has not been completely eliminated, but I personally appreciate what its CEO Qian Zhiya said: "There is no need to buy foreign street drinks as Chinese luxury goods." The rise of many domestic coffee brands has also confirmed the correctness of this statement. After Starbucks announced the price increase, many domestic companies said they had no plans to continue raising prices. Faced with competition from many emerging brands, can Starbucks continue to rely on the so-called "high-end" to sit on the Diaoyutai?

Compared with the policemen who borrowed seats to eat their lunch boxes, what really affected Starbucks' "brand image" was precisely its own arrogance and the increasingly unworthy quality of its products. If Starbucks continues to be so arrogant, it is probably only a matter of time before it is eliminated from the Chinese market.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.