At one time Starbucks (SBUX) and Dunkin' Donuts would have hardly seemed likely to be going after the same consumer dollar. But that is exactly the situation today, asDunkin` Donuts aims to triple in size -- expanding to an astounding 15,000 stores in North America. This move, which would give it more stores than SBUX, is designed to directly compete with the Seattle coffee giant.
Evidently an upscaling of Dunkin' Donuts, in addition to the expansion, is the plan. But could this also be an indicator that Starbucks -- with its seeming strategy of a store on every corner -- is just another chain, the "McDonald's of coffee" that espresso purists have always claimed it is?
Also, John Moore, author of the book Tribal Knowledge, Lessons Learned from Working Inside Starbucks blogged about stunts employed by DD in its quest to understand the difference in its customer-culture and Starbucks'. Makes for interesting sociological reading and sheds light on the huge caliber of the shift Dunkin' Donut is now dedicated to attempting here.
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