Newark

For #TeamStarbucks, the research began before we took-off as we set up camp at the Starbucks in the Newark airport. Though hardly a high-profile shop — it was tucked off to the side on the way to the gate — we encountered many of the images and larger themes that would become central to our Starbucks research in China and India. 1. Piled near the register, these bottles of Fiji water were a small reminder of the constellation of global sources that supplies Starbucks. 2. Though small, the dark wood of Starbucks’ storefront stands in stark

contrast to the sterile metal of the airport itself, hinting at the homey, “Third Place” space within. 3. The long table was just one of the many seating zones in this Starbucks. Customers instinctively knew how to interact with each space, and as we saw further on in our research, customers’ use of these spaces remained consistent across countries. 4. These “Shared Planet” plaques are the foundation of Starbucks’ environmental ethos. The plaques’ magic lies in their inclusive spirit: by drinking Starbucks, they suggest, the consumer is part of a global environmental narrative. 5. Framing the milk-and-sugar area, this large mural works in a similar way to the Shared Planet plaques— just as they tie Starbucks customers into a global environmental narrative, so too does this mural situate Starbucks customers at the center of global consumption patterns.

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Didactic Qualities

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As the most prominent chain of coffee shops in China, Starbucks is uniquely positioned to educate the Chinese consumer in coffee consumption and, by extension, “Western” values. Starbucks seems to take this charge quite seriously: as #TeamStarbucks saw in Starbucks’ Chinese outlets, its didactic qualities extend from the immediately personal to the overarchingly global. 1. Posted above the coffee-and-milk areas at most of the Starbucks, these community boards prominently featured Starbucks’ work on local environmental issues. They align Starbucks with a growing environmental awareness in China. 2. Starbucks is not afraid to get personal. These signs instruct Starbucks customers how to use Western toilets and remind them not to smoke— in short, how to behave in a modern, Western manner. In this way, they’re similar to the government-initiated campaigns we saw in Guangzhou and Shenzhen instructing citizens how to properly use the metro and other public amenities. 3. Shared Planet, across the globe! With exactly the same language as the sign in Newark, this sign was one of four lining the wall at the locations in China. The others promoted Starbucks’ “Environmental Stewardship,” “Community Involvement,” and “Ethical Sourcing.” 4. This display from the British Concession Starbucks brings to life many of the brochures that explain just how Starbucks’ coffee comes to be. It suggests that Starbucks feels the need to teach Chinese consumers who may be unaware of the most fundamental aspects of coffee production and consumption. In China, Starbucks handles the complete coffee experience — from bean to bathroom.

TeamStarbucks

Locations

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#TeamStarbucks had a lot of ground to cover in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Though we couldn’t hope to canvas the entire city, we chose Starbucks locations in both that we believed would give us the best cross section of the Starbucks-drinking population. It was remarkable to compare the differences between each location and between the two cities in general. 1. In Shenzhen, #TeamStarbucks received a fascinating education about social class as we traversed the city, Starbucks by Starbucks, from East to West. Starting in Luohu, the older section of town, we found that Starbucks patrons there viewed going to Starbucks as a fun indulgence— something to enjoy every once in a while, but much too expensive to consume every day. At our second stop, in the Civic Center / Central Business District, we met a businessman who acknowledged that while Starbucks was expensive for most people, he still enjoyed it and used it to stay awake after long nights in the office. At our third and final stop of the day, we made our way to a glittering new mall in the posh Eastern district of Shekou, a heavily ex-pat community. On our walk from the metro station, we met a group of girls who were coincidentally already on their way to Starbucks. To them, money was no object; they thought that “everyone” went to Starbucks. They themselves went four to five times a week and thought nothing of it. 2. In Guangzhou, #TeamStarbucks’ first stop was at one of the most beautiful Starbucks in the world. Located on Shamian Island (the former British concession), this Starbucks spread out across an arcaded colonial-era building. The clientele consisted largely of ex-pats and a few well-heeled locals. The other Starbucks we went to was located in the hustle and bustle south of South China Agricultural University. There, everyone was working on laptops or engaged in a business meeting. The student friends we went with admitted they “seldom” went there as they could not afford Starbucks on their student budget.

Third Place

Branding

In our conversations with young people in China, it became clear that, above all else, they went to Starbucks because it was fashionable. Even the businessman we spoke to admitted that he felt comfortable taking clients there because it was trendy enough to compensate for him not treating his clients to a traditional lavish banquet-style meal. This perceived stylishness is by no means an accident. Starbucks employs many strategies to heighten its brand image— most notably through its location choice and pricing structure. #TeamStarbucks noticed a familiar pattern in our research: Starbucks were never located with other Western food outlets such as the omnipresent KFC and McDonald’s. Instead, Starbucks were located with higher-end clothing retailers— thereby creating this conception that Starbucks is more of a fashion choice than a food choice. In the image above, for example, the iconic logo stands as a guide to point patrons to a Starbucks tucked behind the make-up section of a department store in Shenzhen. In contrast to other Western food outlets, Starbucks has also made the choice not to reduce its prices for the Chinese market. (It does so in India.) As a result, Starbucks prices are quite expensive for the average consumer. At the same time, buying a latte at Starbucks is a vastly less-expensive way to purchase a Western “luxury” item than, say, purchasing a designer handbag. It seems that Starbucks is betting on the continued rise of incomes in China. We believe that Starbucks is hoping that the same customers who aspire to be Starbucks consumers today (and may occasionally get a drink there) will “graduate,” in a sense, to regular consumers in the future.

Starbucks pioneered the idea of a Third Place— the space in between home and work. In China, #TeamStarbucks saw evidence that this concept has translated well. In Shenzhen and Guangzhou, the Third Place is a new urban form, not only in between home and work but also in between public and private. As a result, the Third Place poses problematic questions for the future of Chinese civic life. In a society undergirded by a strong collective spirit, what does it mean that the new “public” spaces in cities are, in fact, anything but? As new developments rise on public land (as all land is in China) what does it suggest about for whom cities are designed if they include subtly exclusionary businesses such as Starbucks? 1. A common mural in Chinese Starbucks, this nationality-nonspecific piece suggests a another sort of Third Place inherent to the Starbucks experience: the customers are not in China nor in America but rather in a deracialized global consumption space. 2. Through design touches like the red Marais chairs, Starbucks has appropriated a global design language (the chair model) and modified it to fit a Chinese context (red is traditionally lucky in China). In doing so, Starbucks once again situates the shop in a nonspecific — but trendy — location. 3. At the same time, these design choices have a more simple motive: to make customers feel at home and connected to the location. In many of the shops, a journal was placed by the pick-up area and customers were encouraged to write notes about their experience. “It’s a happy day here,” reads this typical entry. 4. At the British Concession Starbucks, the interior had a decidedly more residential feel, in keeping with the laid-back, residential vibe of the neighborhood. There’s nothing particularly “Chinese” about the decor; it seemed designed for the expats who made up the majority of the clientele on the morning we visited. Members of our group remarked that it “felt like home.”

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